BEACON  STREET: 

ITS  IMPEOTEMENT  IN  BROOKLINE  BY  CONNECTION 
WITH  COMMONWEALTH  AVENUE. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT, 

m 

AKGUMENTS  OF 

MOSES  WILLIAMS,  Esq.,  Counsel  foe  the  Town  of 
Brookline,  and  CLEMENT  K.  FAY,  Esq.,  Coun¬ 
sel  FOE  the  West  End  Land  Company, 

r  TOGETHER  WITH  THE 

Statements  of  Mr.  Henry  M.  Whitney  and  other  prominent 

CITIZENS  IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  PETITION  OF  THE  SELECT¬ 
MEN  FOR  AUTHORITY  TO  LAY  OUT  BeaCON 

Street  as  a  Town  Way. 


Before  the  Legislative  Committee  on  Roads  and  Bridges. 


BROOKLINE  : 

Chronicle  Press:  C.  ?12S.  Spencer. 


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) 


BEACON  STREET: 


ITS  IMPROVEMENT  IN  BROOKLINE  BY  CONNECTION 

r 

WITH  COMMONWEALTH  AVENUE. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AIOYEMENT, 

ARGUMENTS  OF 


AIOSES  WILLIAMS,  Esq.,  Counsel  for  the  Town  of, 
Brookline,  and  CLEMENT  K.  FAY,  Esq.,  Coun¬ 
sel  FOR  THE  V\^EST  EnD  LaND  COMPANY, 

TOGETHER  WITH  THE 

Statements  of  Mr.  Henry  M.  Whitney  and  other  prominent 

CITIZENS  IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  PETITION  OF  THE  SELECT¬ 
MEN  FOR  AUTHORITY  TO  LAY  OUT  BeaCON 

Street  as  a  Town  Way. 


Before  the  Legislative  Committee  on  Roads  and  Bridges. 


BROOKLINE  : 

Ci^roni'cle  Press:  TO.  .Spencer. 

1887. 


3^1.1  ^ 
Cl4tb"' 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


The  proposed  widening  of  Beacon  Street  was  first  brought 
before  the  town  of  Brookline  by  a  petition  submitted  to  the 
Beard^of  Selectmen,  on  Mondnv.  \ug.  9th,  188£, _ ^This 


petition  was  signed  by  about  one  hundred  of  the  most  influ¬ 
ential  and  intelligent  citizens  of  the  town,  scarcely  any  of 
whom  had  a  direct  pecuniary  interest  in  the  matter.  The 
•  petition  requested  the  selectmen  “  to  lay  out  a  town  way,  or 
townways,  by  the  side  of  the  highway  in  said  town,  called 
Beacon  Street,  beginning  at  or  near  St.  Mary’s  Street,  at 
the  boundary  line  of  the  city  of  Boston,  and  ending  at  the 
boundary  line  of  said  city,  easterly  of  the  Chestnut  Hill 
Reservo^,  so  as  to  make  an  avenue  including  the  present 
area  of  Beacon  Street  200  feet  in  width.  Believing  this 
wide  avenue  would  be  very  beneficial  to  the  public”  and 
would  also  increase  the  value  of  the  real  estate  by  or  near 
which  it  was  constructed,  the  undersigned  respectfully 
request  you  to  lay  out  said  townway  or  townways,  under 
the  provisions  of  law  authorizing  the  assessment  by  better¬ 
ments.”  The  petition  was  dated  Brookline,  July  27th,  1886. 
^  This  petition,  with  a  full  description  of  the  proposed  im- 
_provement,  was  published  inJTh^Glmmicle  (a  local  news- 
g paper  with  a  large  circulation),  Aug.  7th,  1886. 

Public  interest  was  at  once  aroused,  and  the  widening  of 


^  Beacon  Street  became  the  all-absorbing  topic  in  the  to'wn. 
^  On  Tuesday,  August  17th,  pursuant  to  public  notices,  the 
“selectmen  gave  a  hearing  on  the  petition  for  laying  out 
o  Beacon  Street  as  proposed,  at  which  there  was  a  very 'large 
attendance.  Petitions  in  aid  of  the  original  petition  were 
55submitted,  signed  by  several  hundred  more  of  the  citizens. 
SThe  plan  of  the  street,  showing  its  route,  with  the  property 
“lines  and  areas  of  land  to  be  taken,  was  exhibited  to  the 
^meeting,  and  the  whole  matter  was  carefully  and  thoroughly 


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o 


8681 2  I 


4 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


discussed ;  a  full  account  of  which  appeared  in  The  Chronicle 
of  Saturday,  August,  21st,  and  also  in  the  Brookline  News, 
another  local  paper  which  was  started  Aug.  7,  1886.  The 
selectmen  at  once  entered  into  the  subject  with  zealous  care, 
and  insisted  that  definite  proposals  on  behalf  of  the  peti¬ 
tioners  and  the  West  End  Land  Company,  which  originated 
the  enterprise,  should  be  submitted  to  them.  This  was  done, 
and  the  company  and  a  number  of  abutters  submitted  in 
writing  to  the  selectmen  agreements  to  contribute  to  the  car¬ 
rying  out  of  the  project.  These  agreements  were  published 
in  The  Chronicle,  October  9th  ;  and  at  their  meeting,  October 
11th,  Henry  M.  Whitney,  Esq.,  the  president  of  the  West 
End  Land  Company,  made  still  further  offers  of  aid  to  the 
improvement,  which  were  published  in  The  Chronicle  and 
the  Brookline  News,  October  16th.  A  further  hearing  on 
the  widening  of  Beacon  Street  was  given  by  the  board  Octo¬ 
ber  26th,  at  which  was  submitted  a  report  of  Messrs.  Aspin- 
wall  and  Lincoln,  skillful  and  reliable  engineers  and  citizens 
of  the  town,  who  had  been  employed  by  the  West  End 
Land  Company  to  report  upon  the  surveys  and  estimates  of 
cost  of  the  “proposed  extension  of  Commonwealth  Avenue 
over  Beacon  Street  in  Brookline,  mainly  as  designed  in 
line  and  grade  by  Messrs.  F.  L.  &  J.  C.  Olmsted,”  the  emi¬ 
nent  landscape  architects.  Accompanying  this  report  was  a 
carefully  prepared  list  of  the  abutters  on  the  entire  length 
of  the  street,  together  with  the  frontage  on  Beacon  Street  as 
at  present  existing,  and  the  proposed  frontage  on  the  street 
as  widened ;  also,  the  number  of  square  feet  to  be  taken  in 
each  instance,  the  buildings  to  be  removed,  the  assessed 
value  of  the  land  per  foot,  the  assessed  value  of  the  buildings, 
and  a  minute  statement  of  the  cost  of  construction,  with  ten 
*  per  cent  allowance  for  contingencies.  This  report,  with  all 
the  details,  was  published  in  The  Chronicle,  October  30th. 

The  selectmen,  at  the  meeting  of  October  26th,  voted, 
“that  notice  be  sent  to  those  abutters,  portions  of  whose 
estate  would  have  to  be  taken  for  the  widening,  to  meet 
them  in  conference,  on  Wednesday,  November  3d,  at  3 
p.  M.,”  and  printed  notices  thereof  were  directed  to  be  sent. 


I 


HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT. 


5 


At  the  meeting  of  November  3d,  pursuant  to  these  notices 
served  on  the  thirty  owners  of  property  on  the  line  of  the 
proposed  widening,  all  but  six  replied,  either  in  person  or 
by  letter,  to  the  inquiries  of  the  selectmen  as  to  the  prices 
which  they  would  charge  for  the  land  which  would  be  re¬ 
quired  for  the  proposed  widening  of  Beacon  Street.  A  full 
account  of  this  hearing  was  published  in  The  Chronicle, 
November  6th. 

The  selectmen  in  the  meantime,  after  consultation  with 
many  citizens  and  the  engineers,  decided  that  the  practical  ben¬ 
efit  of  the  undertaking  would  not  be  interfered  with,  while  the 
cost  would  be  very  largely  diminished  by  lessening  the  width 
to  160  feet,  from  200  feet  as  first  proposed,  and  at  a  meeting 
held  Nov.  15th,  new  plans  for  the  widening  upon  the  basis 
of  160  feet  were  submitted  by  the  engineers.  Upon  further 
and  careful  consideration  of  the  question,  the  board  voted  to 
give  public  notice  of  its  intention  to  lay  out,  under  the  bet¬ 
terment  law,  “  a  townway  not  exceeding  160  feet  in  width 
on  the  line  of  Beacon  Street.”  This  notice  and  also  an 
account  of  the  hearing  of  Nov.  15th,  were  published  in  The 
Chronicle,  Nov.  20th,  and  the  hearing  upon  the  proposed 
laying  out  was  appointed  for  Tuesday,  Dec.  7th,  at  3  p.  m., 
in  the  town  hall.  Meanwhile  there  was  distributed  through¬ 
out  the  town  an  elaborate  “  plan  for  the  widening  of  Beacon 
Street,”  and  it  also  was  folded  into  The  Chronicle  and  Brook¬ 
line  News  of  Saturday,  Dec.  4th,  and  the  same  issue  of 
those  papers  had  a  concise  and  clear  statement  from  the 
Messrs.  Olmsted,  of  the  character  of  the  proposed  improve¬ 
ment,  showing  the  unquestionable  benefits  which  must  result 
therefrom,  not  alone  to  Brookline,  but  to  Boston,  and,  indeed, 
to  the  world  in  general. 

The  hearing  which  was  held  Dec.  7th,  was  well  attended, 
and  a  long  and  interesting  discussion,  occupying  nearly  four 
hours,  ensued.  The  subject  of  the  improvement  was  care¬ 
fully  sifted  ;  a  large  plan  of  the  widening  was  exposed  before 
the  meeting ;  the  engineers,  Messrs.  Aspinwall  and  Lincoln, 
gave  a  full  statement  of  the  work  proposed  to  be  done,  and 
its  cost,  and  expressed  their  readiness  to  answer  any  and  all 


6 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


questions  which  might  be  put  to  them  for  information.  Sev¬ 
eral  of  those  present  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege,  and 
Mr.  Whitney,  who  was  also  present,  gave  the  meeting  all 
the  facts  which  were  asked  for.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
several  citizens  who,  at  the  start,  opposed  the  enterprise, 
had  in  the  meantime  become  convinced  of  its  great  advan- 
tages,  as  w^ell  as  its  feasibility,  and  realized  the  importance 
of  not  letting  slip  so  good  an  opportunity  to  do  the  work  at 
a  comparatively  moderate  cost. 

The  selectmen  were  unanimous  in  their  approval  of  the 
enterprise,  and  after  the  hearing,  a  full  account  of  which 
was  published  in  The  Chronicle  and  the  Brookline  News, 
Dec.  11th,  they  decided  to  lay  out  Beacon  Street  to  the 
width  of  160  feet  as  a  townway,  in  accordance  with  their 
own  convictions  and  apparently  with  the  approval  of  a  large 
majority  of  the  citizens.  They  were  about  to  proceed  in 
the  regular  manner  to  lay  it  out  as  a  townway ^  when  it 
was  suggested  by  Mr.  Williams,  the  counsel  for  the 
town,  .that  inasmuch  as  Beacon  Street  had  been  laid  out 
originally  as  a  county  way  in  1851,  there  might  be  some 
difficulty  in  the  collection  of  betterments  by  the  town 
if  the  selectmen  were  to  proceed  without  special  legis¬ 
lative  authority.  Accordingly  they  called  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens,  Dec.  20th,  at  which  they  submitted  a  vote  authoriz¬ 
ing  them  to  petition  the  General  Court  “for  authority  to 
locate  or  widen  Beacon  Street  within  the  town,  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  Beacon  Street  were  a  townway  ;  also,  for  author¬ 
ity  in  any  such  relocation  or  widening  to  change  the  grade 
of  a  portion  of  Beacon  Street,  in  the  same  manner  as  if 
Beacon  Street  were  a  townway;  also,  for  authority  in  any 
such  relocation  or  widening  to  discontinue  any  portion  of 
Beacon  Street,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  Beacon  Street  were 
a  townway ;  also,  for  authority  to  the  town  of  Brookline  to 
accept  and  make  valid  any  such  relocation  or  widening  of  Bea¬ 
con  Street,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  Beacon  Street  were  a 
a  townv/ay ;  also,  for  authority  to  the  selectmen  to  assess 
betterments  upon  any  such  relocation  or  widening  of  Beacon 
Street,  in  like  manner  as  if  Beacon  Street  were  a  townway.” 


HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT. 


7 


The  meeting  was  an  unusually  large  one,  and  after  much 
debate,  in  which  many  of  the  leading  and  most  reliable  citi¬ 
zens  participated,  it  was  voted  unanimously  to  authorize  the 
selectmen  to  go  to  the  General  Court  and  ask  for  the  author¬ 
ity,  exactly  as  proposed  by  them  in  this  vote. 

The  other  facts  in  this  matter  will  perhaps  sufficiently  appear 
in  the  arguments  of  Messrs.  Moses  Williams,  Esq.,  counsel  for 
the  town,  and  Clement  K.  Fay,  Esq.,  for  the  West  End 
Land  Company,  and  the  clear  and  comprehensive  statements 
made  at  the  hearing  before  the  Committee  on  Roads  and 
Bridges,  by  Messrs.  Henry  M.  Whitney,  Henry  D.  Hyde, 
Charles  U.  Cotting,  John  W.  Candler,  William  Aspinwall, 
B.  F.  Baker,  town  clerk  of  Brookline,  William  Lincoln, 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  Assessors,  and  others,  who 
testified  in  favor  of  the  improvement.  It  may  be  said,  in 
conclusion,  that  scarcely  any  other  public  measure  in  the 
history  of  Brookline  has  so  occupied  the  town’s  attention. 
Since  it  was  first  started,  in  August  last,  every  step  in  the 
undertaking  has  been  carefully  considered ;  repeated  meet¬ 
ings  have  been  held  by  the  selectmen,  both  in  public  and  in 
executive  session  ;  full  accounts  of  the  proceedings  have  been 
furnished  in  the  two  local  Brookline  newspapers,  which  are 
published  every  Saturday  and  are  widely  read,  and  the 
columns  of  The  Chronicle  have  been  filled  with  corres¬ 
pondence  on  both  sides  of  the  question.  It  is  impos¬ 
sible  to  see  how  the  matter  could  have  been  more  honestly 
and  thoroughly  treated,  both  by  the  town  and  its  officials, 
than  it  has  been  up  to  the  present  time.  The  opposition, 
which  was  developed,  somewhat  unexpectedly,  at  the  hearing 
before  the  Committee  on  Roads  and  Bridges,  is  no  more  than 
would  naturally  be  expected  in  a  town  of  over  ten  thousand 
inhabitants,  with  sixteen  hundred  voters,  where  it  is  proposed 
to  lay  out  a  town  way  two  miles  and  a  lialf  long,  of  an 
unusual  width,  and  at  a  somewhat  large  original  cost.  In 
the  opinion  of  a  large  majority  of  the  town,  the  cost  will 
speedily  be  retui’ned  by  the  development  of  unimproved 
property  and  the  consequent  rise  in  values;  but  that  is,  of 
course,  a  question  for  the  town  itself  to  decide  after  this  Act 


8 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


is  passed  and  the  selectmen  have  laid  out  the  road  as  a 
town  way. 

All  the  foregoing  statements  as  to  the  history  of  this 
subject  are  true  and  will  not  be  disputed.  No  less  than 
seven  public  hearings,  duly  advertised,  and  fully  reported  in 
the  newspapers  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  failed  to  attend, 
to  say  nothing  of  six  months’  careful  study  of  the  whole 
question  by  the  selectmen,  all  attest  the  care  and  deliberation 
which  have  marked  the  course  of  Brookline  in  this  matter. 


HEARING  UPON  THE  PETITION  OF  THE  SELECT¬ 
MEN  OF  BROOKLINE,  FOR  AUTHORITY  TO 
LAY  OUT  BEACON  STREET  IN  BROOKLINE  AS 
A  TOWNWAY. 

Before  the  Committee  on  Roads  and  Bridges,  ) 

In  the  Blue  Room,  Jan.  25,  26,  27,  1887.  / 

The  petition  for  the  widening  and  relocation  of  Beacon 
Street  as  a  town  way,  was  first  read  to  the  committee  by 
Moses  Williams,  Esq.,  counsel  for  the  town  of  Brookline, 
and  the  records  of  the  town  showing  the  vote  of  its  citizens 
at  a  town  meeting  held  Dec.  20,  1886,  authorizing  the 
selectmen  to  appear  and  present  said  petition  to  the  General 
Court,  with  a  draft  of  the  proposed  Act,  were  sub¬ 
mitted.  In  response  to  an  inquiry  by  the  chairman  of 
the  committee,  Messrs.  Edward  Atkinson,  George  Griggs 
and  Charles  H.  Stearns  announced  that  they  were  opposed  to 
the  petition,  and  William  H.  White,  Esq.,  stated  that  he 
represented  several  citizens  of  the  town  who  were  not  op¬ 
posed  to  the  granting  of  the  petition,  but  who  wished  certain 
amendments  of  the  Act  submitted  by  the  selectmen  to 
be  adopted,  which  he  subsequently  submitted  to  the  com¬ 
mittee,  together  with  a  petition  in  their  support  signed 
by  forty-eight  citizens  of  Brookline.  This  petition  was 
not  left  with  the  committee,  but  was  presented  to  the 
Legislature,  separately,  Jan.  27th.  The  hearing  occupied 
the  whole  of  Tuesday,  Jan.  25th,  and  the  forenoons  of  the 
two  following  days.  The  presentation  of  the  selectmen’s 
petition  and  Mr.  Williams’  opening  remarks  occupied  but  a 
short  time,  and  the  rest  of  Tuesday  and  a  part  of  Wednesday 
were  given  to  the  remonstrants,  who  had  all  the  time  and 
opportunity  that  they  asked  for  to  present  their  objections. 
Testimony  in  behalf  of  the  selectmen’s  petition  and  argu¬ 
ments  by  Clement  K.  Fay,  Esq.,  and  others  representing 
the  West  End  Land  Company,  followed,  and  Mr.  Williams, 


10 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


counsel  for  the  town,  summed  up  for  the  selectmen  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  hearing.  Extracts  from  the  testimony  and 
arguments  in  behalf  of  the  petition  are  herewith  submitted. 

After  the  remonstrants  had  been  heard,  Clement  K.  Fay, 
Esq.,  made  the  following  argument  in  behalf  of  the  West 
End  Land  Company : 


ARGUMENT  OF  CLEMENT  K.  FAY,  ESQ. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  : 

I  shall  try  to  take  as  little  time  as  possible  in  what  I  have 
to  say  upon  this  matter.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  go  into  any 
detailed  description  of  the  project  itself,  but  will  leave  that 
to  the  man  who  is  the  best  qualified  of  any  man  in  the  world 
to  do  it,  —  our  public-spirited  citizen,  Mr.  Henry  M.  Whit¬ 
ney,  who  originated  this  magnificent  project.  And  when  I 
say  “magnificent,”  I  say  it  deliberately,  and  after  due 
thought.  It  is  not  a  mere  flight  of  fancy  ;  for  this  is  an  im¬ 
provement  which,  if  carried  out,  is  going  to  be  one  of  the 
most  marked,  and  useful,  and  desirable  improvements  that 
has  been  inaugurated  here  within  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
or,  I  may  say,  since  the  development  of  the  Back  Bay  terri¬ 
tory  of  Boston. 

Who  are  the  petitioners  in  this  case  ?  Why  are  they  here  ? 
What  do  they  ask  for  ?  And  why  do  they  ask  for  it  ?  Those 
are  the  questions  which  you  have  first  to  consider  as  mem¬ 
bers  of  this  committee.  The  petitioners  are  the  selectmen  of 
the  town  of  Brookline,  four  as  upright,  intelligent,  and  pains¬ 
taking  public  officials  as  3^ou  can  find  anywhere.  Why  do  they 
come  here?  They  come  here  in  obedience  to  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  town  of  Brookline  by  its  citizens  in  town  meet¬ 
ing  assembled.  That  meeting  was  an  unusually  large  one  ; 
it  was  a  very  intelligent  one ;  and  it  was  unanimous  in 
authorizino"  the  selectmen  to  come  to  the  General  Court  and 

O 

ask  for  this  Act. 


ARGUMENT  OF  CLEMENT  K.  FAY,  ESQ. 


11 


Now,  why  do  they  ask  for  it?  They  ask  for  it  simply 
because  they  want  to  lay  out  a  townway  over  and  ad¬ 
joining  what  has  been,  hitherto,  a  highway  or  county 
way.  And  why  do  they  do  that?  It  is  only  that  they 
may  be  able  to  deal  effectively  and  properly  with  the 
questions  of  grade  damages  and  betterments.  When  Mr. 
Williams,  the  able  counsel  for  the  town,  in  his  opening, 
yesterday,  had  unfolded  the  case  to  you,  and  had  shown 
the  authority  by  which  the  selectmen  came  here,  there  was 
nothing  for  you  to  do  —  and  I  know  it  would  have  given 
each  and  all  of  you  pleasure  to  do  it — but  to  report  the  act 
as  it  stood.  But  then,  for  the  first  time,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
was  developed  an  opposition.  Now,  I  want  to  contrast,  for 
one  moment,  the  attitude  of  the  petitioners  with  that  of  the 
opponents  of  this  measure.  The  petitioners  are  the  four 
proper  official  representatives  of  the  town,  backed  up  by  a 
unanimous  vote  of  the  citizens  of  the  town.  The  opponents 
are  a  mere  handful ;  one  of  whom  —  and  the  one  who  took 
up  the  most  time,  and  who  was  the  most  unfair  (I  am  sorry 
to  say,  because  he  is  a  friend  of  mine)  — was  a  gentleman 
who  was  not  at  the  town  meeting. 

What  is  this  opposition?  Those  of  you  who  have  had 
legislative  experience,  and  those  of  you  who  are  entering 
upon  it, ’have  already  learned,  or  will  soon  learn,  that  one 
of  the  ways  of  defeating  a  legislative  measure  is  to  saddle  it 
with  “  amendments.”  Thege  are  the  tactics  that  are  resorted 
to  by  the  opponents  of  this  measure.  In  order  to  show  you 
how  3"ou  have  been  misled,  if  you  have  suffered  yourselves 
to  believe  what  has  been  stated  by  the  other  side,  I  want  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  misleading  attitude  of  these  oppo¬ 
nents.  And  when  I  say  that,  I  do  not  say  it  in  any  spirit  of 
harshness,  because  I  think  there  may  be  an  honest  difierence 
of  opinion  on  the  part  of  some  of  them  ;  but  it  is  absolutely 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  their  case  that  they  prove 
this  to  be  a  “  park  ”  way,  and  not  a  “  road”  way.  Now,  I 
want  to  call  your  attention  to  this  fact :  We  have  a  “  park  ” 
way  in  Brookline  already,  or  are  going  to  have,  and  some  of 
it  is  delineated  on  this  map  before  you.  In  1875  the  city  of 


12 


BEACON  STUEET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Boston  accepted  the  so-called  Park  Act ;  and  one  of  the 
provisions  of  that  Act  was  that  it  might  become  applicable  to 
the  adjoining  towns,  referring  particularly  to  the  town  of 
Brookline,  which  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  Boston.  It 
was  provided  in  that  Act  that  we  might  elect  three  Park 
Commissioners,  to  act  in  concert,  or  in  harmony  with  the 
Park  Commissioners  of  Boston.  Five  years  later,  in  1880, 
the  town  accepted  that  Act  of  1875,  and  that  is  the  Act  under 
which  the  town  of  Brookline  is  to  do  its  park  work.  It  has 
no  more  reference  to  the  work  to  be  done  upon  Beacon 
Street  than  it  has  any  bearing  upon  the  question  of  the  Fish¬ 
eries,  or  on  the  question  of  an  European  war.  We  have 
elected  three  Park  Commissioners,  and  we  propose  to  de¬ 
velop  our  parkway  as  soon  as  Boston  developes  hers.  Then 
our  Park  Commissioners  will  take  jurisdiction  under  the  ex¬ 
isting  Act,  and  will  carry  out  this  work  in  the  territory  south 
of  the  Boston  &  Albany  railroad,  a  long  distance  away,  as 
you  will  observe,  from  this  contemplated  road,  wot  park. 

Now,  gentlemen,  bear  in  mind  that  one  distinction,  be¬ 
cause  that  is  the  focal  point  in  the  whole  controversy.  Bea¬ 
con  Street  is  a  county  way ;  and  it  was  the  opinion  of  Judge 
Hoar,  who  is  the  most  eminent  ex-justice  now  living,  prob¬ 
ably,  in  this  Commonwealth,  that  the  selectmen  might  go 
ahead  and  lay  it  out  as  a  townway,  without  any  legislation. 
The  town  thought  it  was  better  to  get  your  authority,  in 
order  to  save  all  question  ;  because,  you  can  see,  yourselves, 
that  on  the  question  of  betterments  an  abutter  on  the  street 
might  lie  low,  and  say  nothing  until  the  time  came  to  collect 
the  betterments,  and  then  he  might  say  :  “  This  is  a  county 
way;  it  was  laid  out  in  1851,  and  you  have  no  jurisdiction; 
you  can  only  lay  out  a  townway.”  And  so  he  might  escape 
the  payment  of  betterments.  Therefore,  it  was  thought  best 
that  we  should  oet  this  le«:islative  Act. 

■  We  have  come  up  here  backed  by  the  almost  unanimous 
sentiment  of  the  town  of  Brookline ;  and  if  any  portion  of 
the  sixteen  hundred  voters  of  that  town  did  not  choose  to 
come  out  to  that  meeting,  and  did  not  choose  to  take  part  in 
the  discussion,  it  is  with  peculiarly  ill-grace  that  they  send 


ARGUMENT  OF  CLEMENT  K.  FAY,  ESQ. 


13 


their  counsel  up  here,  and  appear,  either  singly  or  in  detach¬ 
ments,  to  try  to  assassinate  this  measure  by  the  adoption  of 
a  legislative  ruse  which  is  perfectly  apparent  to  everybody  ;  that 

is,  by  trying  to  engraft  upon  this  Act  certain  amendments 
which  are  unreasonable,  which  are  unprecedented,  and  which 
will  overturn  the  well-established  usage  of  the  Common¬ 
wealth  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  In  1786  the  Legis¬ 
lature  gave  the  selectmen  of  towns  the  right  to  lay  out  town- 
ways.  I  suppose  most  of  you  come  from  towns  and  know 
just  what  the  procedure  is.  In  Brookline  we  elect  live 
selectmen  annually.  Under  the  Public  Statutes  there  may 
be  three,  five,  seven,  or  nine.  We  have  five,  and  we  elected 
five  last  year.  One  of  them  has  resigned ;  but  while  there 
were  still  five  members  of  the  board,  they  carefully  consid¬ 
ered  this  measure,  and  they  all  agreed  in  favor  of  it. 

The  regular  procedure  in  laying  out  a  townway  is  for  the 
selectmen  to  frame  a  case,  as  it  were,  for  the  decision  of  the 
town.  They  say,  that  in  their  judgment,  “  public  necessity 
and  convenience  ”  require  that  a  way  shall  be  laid  out.  That 
is  a  mere  “  legal  fiction,”  I  might  say.  The  laying  out  is  sub¬ 
mitted  to  the  town,  and  the  town  may  accept  or  reject  it. 
In  this  particular  case,  the  remonstrants  are  attempting  to 
fasten  upon  the  simple  act  of  ‘  ‘  laying  out  a  town  way  ”  the 
restrictions  and  requirements  which  are  the  peculiar  features 
of  Park  Acts;  and  in  support  of  that  course,  my  learned 
friend,  Mr.  White,  read  yesterday  from  several  Acts  of  that 
kind,  and  other  exceptional  kinds,  which  provide  that  a  two- 
thirds  or  a  majority  vote  by  ballot  are  sometimes  required. 
I  admit  the  force  of  every  one  of  those.  I  would  not  have 
any  change  made  in  such  Acts.  In  fact,  the  general  Park 
Act  of  1882  is,  perhaps,  superior  to  the  Boston  Park  Act  of 
1875,  in  bein^  a  little  more  strict.  But  it  is  altoirether  un- 
precedented,  unnecessary,  and  unjust  for  you  to  take  upon 
yourselves  the  heavy  responsibility  of  appljdng  the  rules 
which  govern  park  construction  to  the  simple  case  of  laying 
out  a  towmvay.  For  that  is  all  there  is  to  it.  I  repeat 

it,  gentlemen,  it  is  nothing  but  a,  towmvay^  and  no  amount 
of  assertion  can  make  it  otherwise. 


14 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Let  me  give  you  a  little  side  light  on  that.  AVithin  the 
last  forty-eight  hours  the  Street  Commissioners  of  Boston 
have  voted  to  lay  out  as  a  street  that  part  of  Beacon  Street 
which  is  in  the  city  of  Boston.  They  are  going  to  lay  it  out 
to  meet  and  continue  the  Brookline  part  of  this  improvement. 
Now,  here  is  the  test.  By  the  theory  of  these  remonstrants 
this  could  only  properly  be  done  by  the  Park  Commissioners 
of  the  city  of  Boston ;  the  Street  Commissioners  should 
have  no  jurisdiction  whatever.  But  the  city  authorities  of 
Boston  know  what  they  are  about  and  they  therefore  properly 
entrust  this  matter  to  the  Street  Commissioners.  The  Street 
Commissioners  are  the  parties  who  act  on  such  matters  in  the 
city  of  Boston,  and  their  position  is  analogous  to  that  of  the 
selectmen  in  Brookline.  If  this  were  upon  the  South  side  of 
the  railroad,  where  the  parkway  is  to  be,  the  selectmen 
would  have  no  business  to  interfere  with  it ;  the  Brookline 
and  Boston  Park  Commissioners  would  have  to  do  it.  This 
matter  is  wholly  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  selectmen, 
and  I  do  not  believe  that  you  will  stultify  yourselves  by 
reporting  legislation  which  is  applicable  to  Park  Com¬ 
missioners.  It  seems  to  me  it  is  a  fatal  objection  to  the 
position  which  has  been  taken  by  the  remonstrants  here. 

If  Brookline  is  not  competent  to  deal  with  this  question 
in  the  old-fashioned  way,  as  it  has  been  dealt  with  in  this 
Commonwealth  for  the  last  hundred  years,  then  provide,  in 
some  form,  a  guardianship  for  our  town,  in  order  that  we 
may  be  kept  from  the  commission  of  all  the  follies  of  which 
these  opponents  seem  so  apprehensive.  I  think  I  may  fairly 
say  to  them  that  if,  instead  of  coming  up  here  and  taking  my 
time  and  your  time,  they  would  go  to  the  town  meeting  and 
try  a  little  of  their  eloquence  there,  where  it  might  do  some 
good,  it  would  be  far  better  than  coming  here  and  making 
the  excuse  for  their  coming  that  our  town  government  is,  in 
their  opinion,  a  failure.  Sir,  it  is  dislo^TiI.  It  begs  the 
question.  It  assumes  that  the  town  of  Brookline  cannot 
manaofe  its  own  afhiirs.  The  gentlemen  who  make  these 
statements,  make  them  in  the  face  of  the  undisputed  fact 
that  the  six  hundred  of  our  citizens,  in  town  meeting  assem¬ 
bled,  unanimously  endorsed  this  very  thing. 


ARGUMENT  OF  CLEMENT  K.  FAY,  ESQ. 


15 


I  feel  that  I  ought  to  apologize  for  going  so  fully  into  this 
matter  as  I  have.  I  have  been  compelled  to  do  so  because 
the  hearing  has  taken  a  wider  range  than,  technically,  it  was 
entitled  to.  At  the  same  time  I  cordially  commend  the  spirit 
of  the  chairman  in  allowing  the  fullest  license  to  these  remon¬ 
strants.  We  have  no  desire  to  stifle  anything  which  is  rea¬ 
sonably  and  fairly  offered  in  opposition  to  this  measure.  On 
the  contrary,  we  invite  the  fullest  investigation. 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  for  me  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  flings  about  the  money  which  my  clients  are  to  make 
out  of  this  improvement,  are  unworthy  the  name  of  argu¬ 
ment.  No  matter  how  much  money  they  make  out  of  it. 
If  the  town  of  Brookline  is  to  be  benefitted  by  it,  if  its  peo¬ 
ple  are  to  pay  for  it,  if  its  citizens  want  it,  may  I  ask, 
plainly,  whose  business  is  it  outside  of  the  town  of  Brook¬ 
line?  I  say  we  are  competent  to  manage  our  own  affairs. 

There  was  a  petition  put  in  here  by  remonstrants  repre¬ 
senting,  it  was  said,  one-tenth  of  the  valuation  of  the  town, 
and  there  were  forty-eight  names  signed  to  it.  There  are 
1,600  voters  in  Brookline.  You  can  ask  them  separately  to 
sign  a  petition,  although  you  cannot  get  all  of  them  to  attend 
a  town  meeting.  So  that  the  proportion  of  the  men  who 
have  signed  the  petition  against  this  measure  is  practically 
insignificant.  Just  think  of  it;  forty-eight  out  of  1,600 
have  signed  the  petition  !  But  what  does  a  petition  amount 
to?  Before  you  have  been  here  much  longer,  gentlemen, 
you  will  find  out,  I  think,  that  petitions  are  about  as  mean¬ 
ingless,  oftentimes,  as  anything  that  can  well  be  imagined. 
A  petition  is  carried  to  a  man  ;  he  looks  at  it,  sees  that  some¬ 
body  else  has  signed  it,  and  does  not  read  it,  but  he  signs  it 
because  his  friend  has.  Another  man  is  very  busy,  and  he 
signs  it  without  looking  at  it  and  without  a  thought.  Often¬ 
times  men  sign  a  petition  simply  to  get  rid  of  the  applicant. 
So  I  say  a  petition  with  forty-eight  names  upon  it  is  not 
even  a  satisfactory  test  of  the  judgment  of  those  who  have 
signed  it. 

The  opponents  offer  here  something  which  is  absolutely 
unique  in  the  legislation  of  this  Commonwealth.  One  of 


16 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


their  amendments  is  that  this  Act  shall  he  accepted  hy  a  two- 
thirds  vote,  hy  ballot,  of  the  citizens.  That  is  absolutely 
without  precedent  in  this  Commonwealth.  It  is  so  unfair 
that  Mr.  White,  honorable  man  that  he  is,  when  I  asked  him 
why  he  introduced  so  extraordinary  a  proposition  as  that, 
said  that  he  thought  it  might  end  the  question  at  the  outset 
and  save  a  good  deal  of  money,  or  something  to  that  effect. 
He  was  frank  enough  to  admit  that  he  thouMit  it  niijrht  kill 
the  measure.  Are  you  going  to  be  made  a  handle  of  in  this 
matter  ?  Are  you  going  to  allow  a  handful  of  men  to  come 
up  here  and  get  your  aid  to  slaughter  this  project  in  that 
manner  ?  I  do  not  believe  it. 

Then,  as  to  the  question  of  ballot.  I  wonder  it  has  not 
occurred  to  these  gentlemen,  —  perhaps  it  has,  —  that  when 
this  bill  comes  before  the  people,  we  have  ample  authority 
to  vote  by  ballot,  if  we  see  fit.  A  town  meeting  is,  in  this 
respect,  a  law  unto  itself.  It  comes  right  down  to  this  :  If 
you  pass  the  bill  with  these  restrictions  upon  it,  you  over¬ 
ride  a  principle  which  has  been  in  successful  operation  for 
over  a  hundred  years  ;  you  establish  a  dangerous  precedent ; 
you  disappoint  the  town  of  Brookline  ;  you  allow  a  few  dis¬ 
affected  citizens  to  come  up  here  and  effect  more,  at  this  brief 
hearing,  than  six  hundred  of  their  fellow-citizens,  who  were 
faithful  to  their  duties  at  the  town  meeting,  and  you  ignore 
entirely  the  fact  that  the  town  of  Brookline  is  perfectly  com¬ 
petent  to  take  care  of  itself,  and  adopt  the  ballot  if  it  sees 
fit.  Are  the  opponents  afraid  to  go  to  a  town  meeting  of  the 
old-fashioned  New  England  sort,  the  best  test  that  has  ever 
been  devised  by  human  ingenuity  for  the  fair  and  proper 
treatment  of  local  questions  ?  Are  they  afraid  to  be  sub¬ 
jected  to  such  a  crucial  test  as  that ;  and  are  they  trying,  in 
an  outside  way,  to  override  the  will  of  the  majority  of  their 
fellow-citizens?  I  leave  it  to  you,  confidenth%  to  set  the 
seal  of  your  disapprobation  upon  their  position,  by  passing 
this  Act  in  its  entirety,  as  submitted  here  by  the  petitioners, 
and  as  approved  by  everybody  except  these  few  objectors. 


STATEMENT  OF  HENRY  M.  WHITNEY. 


17 


STATEMENT  OF  HENRY  M.  WHITNEY. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen: 

The  selectmen  of  the  town  of  Brookline  and  the  men  who 
favor  this  great  project  of  carrying  out  Commonwealth  Ave¬ 
nue,  for  which  the  city  of  Boston  and  the  State  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  are  indebted  more,  perhaps,  to  this  Legislature  thirty 
years  ago  than  to  anybody  else, — we,  I  say,  who  come  up 
here  in  support  of  this  measure,  have  found  ourselves  placed 
in  a  false  light.  Everybody  is  agreed  that  Beacon  Street 
should  be  widened.  There  is  not  a  dissenting  opinion  upon 
that  question  in  the  whole  town.  Even  Edward  Atkinson 
himself,  impervious  as  he  is  to  all  argument  by  his  oppo¬ 
nents,  will  concede  that;  and  that  is  all  that  the  selectmen 
ask.  It  is  not  that  you  should  sit  in  judgment  upon  the 
(juestion  whether  this  avenue  shall  be  160,  150,  or  even  70 
feet  wide.  It  is  Avhether  or  not  you  will,  in  response  to  the 
unanimous  request  of  the  town  of  Brookline,  give  them  leave 
to  treat  this  county  way  as  if  it  were  a  townway.  For  every¬ 
body  will  admit  that  if  our  proposed  avenue  of  160  feet  is 
not  carried,  it  comes  right  back  to  the  question  :  Give  us  an 
avenue  of  70  feet. 

Now,  this  question  of  the  widening  of  Beacon  Street  is 
not  a  new  question  in  the  town  of  Brookline.  It  has  been 
before  the  County  Commissioners  and  before  the  town,  time 
and  time  again,  and  the  only  reason  why  it  has  not  been 
widened  before,  is  the  great  expense  involved  to  the  town 
and  county  in  carrying  it  out.  That  has,  up"  to  this  time,  de¬ 
feated  any  attempt  to  widen  it  in  the  slightest  degree. 
Now,  gentlemen  come  up  here  and  gravely  ask  you  to  impose 
conditions  upon  the  widening  of  Beacon  Street  in  the  town 
of  Brookline  that  exist  upon  no  other  highway  in  this  Com¬ 
monwealth.  Is  there  any  reason  why  Beacon  Street  should 
be  placed  under  any  other  conditions  as  to  widening  than  any 
other  street  in  the  town  ?  Are  not  all  the  citizens  of  the 
town  on  a  perfect  equality  in  respect  to  that  matter  as  upon 


18 


BEACOX  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


all  others?  But  you  are  gravely  asked  to  give  your  sanction 
to  an  Act  which  shall  prevent,  except  by  a  two-thirds  vote 
of  the  town,  by  ballot,  any  action  whatsoever  upon  that 
street.  Suppose  the  town  of  Brookline  comes  here  and  asks 
you  to  let  it  treat  all  the  streets  in  the  town  that  are  now 
county  ways,  as  townways?  That  would  be  a  perfectly 
proper  and  reasonable  thing  to  do,  and  it  is  a  thing  that  will 
ultimatel}^  have  to  be  done  ;  and  your  action  upon  this  ques¬ 
tion,  gentlemen,  I  trust  will  be  such  as  will  establish  a 
})recedent  which  all  future  Legislatures  can  look  to.  We  ask 
you  simply  to  settle  this  question  on  the  proper  principles  of 
equity  and  justice.  We  are  not  here  to  try  the  question 
before  you  as  to  whether  this  avenue  is  to  be  160  feet  wide, 
or  any  other  width.  My  own  private  affairs  are  not  matters 
of  discussion  before  this  committee,  exceping  in  so  far  as 
they  relate  to  the  subject-matter  of  this  petition.  I  am 
perfectly  willing  that  this  committee,  the  Legislature,  and 
everybody  else,  shall  know  all  there  is  to  be  told  in  reference 
to  that,  or  anything  that  I  have  asked  the  town  of  Brookline 
to  do. 

Now,  what  have  we  heard?  What  is  the  opposition? 
Why,  we  have  heard  from  our  opponents  everything  under 
the  sun  except  what  applies  to  the  question  at  issue  here. 
They  have  not  stated  one  single  reason  why  this  application 
of  the  town  of  Brookline  should  not  be  granted.  Is  there  any 
reason  why,  because  this  avenue  thirty-seven  years  ago  was 
laid  out  as  a  county  way  and  has  been  treated  from  that  time 
to  this  in  all  respects  as  a  townway,  the  county  never  having 
done  anything  to  it  except  to  establish  grades  which  are  ad¬ 
mitted  to  be  bad,  and  ever  since  1851  it  has  been  in  the 
possession  of  the  town  ;  the  people  living  upon  the  line  have 
paid  their  taxes,  the  repairs  have  been  made  in  the  usual 
way,  and  now  you  are  gravely  asked  to  come  in  and  impose 
a  condition  upon  Beacon  Street  that  will  make  it  something 
entirely  anomalous  in  the  whole  history  of  this  Common¬ 
wealth.  I  say  that  this  petition  does  not  provide  for  anything 
else  except  that  the  Legislature  will  permit  the  town  of 
Brookline  to  treat  Beacon  Street  in  its  own  way  and  leave 


STATEMENT  OF  HENRY  M.  WHITNEY. 


19 


the  town,  as  every  other  town  in  the  Commonwealth  is  left, 
at  liberty  to  say  what  they  consider  necessary  for  the  public 
good  and  convenience.  What  is  that?  A^^hat  is  private 
convenience  and  necessity?  Why,  it  is  simply  what  the  in¬ 
dividual  can  afford  to  have  of  all  the  good  things  in  the  world 
that  shall  add  to  his  pleasure  or  his  comfort.  So,  indeed,  is 
it  with  the  streets.  Give  us  the  democratic  doctrine  and  let 
the  community  itself  decide  how  much  pleasure  and  how 
much  comfort  they  may  have  in  the  streets  or  avenues,  and 
you  may  leave  it  in  perfect  safety  for  those  people  to  decide. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  we  did  not  proceed 
upon  this  question  of  widening  Beacon  Street  without  proper 
advice.  A¥hen  the  question  was  first  taken  up  I  went  to  the 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  Mr.  Chandler,  and  I 
said,  “Of  all  the  men  in  Massachusetts,  whose  opinion  do 
you  regard  as  the  most  valuable  upon  the  question  of  town 
affairs?”  Said  he,  “Judge  Hoar’s.”  “Very  well,”  I  said,  “I 
will  retain  Judge  Hoar.”  I  did  retain  Judge  Hoar,  and  here 
is  his  opinion  touching  this  very  question  : 

“To  the  third  question  I  answer,  that  in  my  opinion  the 
selectmen  of  Brooldine  can  lay  out  a  town  way  on  either  side 
of  the  existing  highway,  or  partly  on  one  side  and  partly  on 
the  other,  in  such  manner  as  when  built  to  make  practically 
one  street,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  town  as  in  other 
cases,  and  may  assess  betterments  or  make  agreements  in 
relation  to  compromise,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the 
Statute.” 

We  proceeded  for  several  months  under  the  advice  of  Judge 
Hoar  and  under  the  advice  of  other  counsel,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  very  day  that  the  selectmen  met  to  lay  out  this 
street  that  there  was  any  intimation  that  any  further  legisla¬ 
tion  was  necessary.  AYhen  we  met  at  that  meeting  the 
counsel  of  the  town  hesitated.  He  said  :  “This  is  a  county 
way ;  there  may  be  some  question  that  would  endanger  the 
betterments.”  And  we,  desiring  to  treat  the  town  with  the 
utmost  fairness  in  all  respects,  said:  “Mr.  Chairman  and 
gentlemen,  if  you  think  so,  we  will  wait.”  And  this  applica¬ 
tion  to  the  Legislature  is  for  the  interest  of  the  citizens  who 
are  not  upon  the  line.  It  is  in  order  that  any  property  which 


20 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


may  be  specially  benefited  shall  bear  its  part  of  the  burden. 
It  is  to  insure  that  the  people  who  live  remote  from  this  line 
and  who  are  interested  only  in  the  general  tax  of  the  town, 
shall  be  saved  as  much  as  possible  from  the  expense  of  this 
improvement.  That  is  all.  It  is  not  because  I  believe,  or 
have  believed,  that  any  further  legislation  is  necessary,  but 
it  is  in  order  to  make  absolutelv  sure  that  the  interests  of  the 

4/ 

people  of  the  town,  and  especially  of  those  who  live  remote 
from  this  quarter,  shall  be  protected,  that  we  are  asking  you 
for  this  simple  bill,  which  will  give*  the  town  of  Brookline  a 
right  to  consider  that  road  as  a  townway  which  for  thirty- 
seven  years  we  have  in  all  respects  treated  as  a  townway, 
and  not  impose  restrictions  upon  this  way  which  are  not 
equally  imposed  upon  every  other  highway  in  the  town. 

Now,  Mr.  Atkinson  comes  up  here  ;  and  what  does  he  tell 
you?  Why,  he  tells  you  :  “  Put  it  off  a  year.  Turn  it  over 
to  the  next  General  Court.  It  will  not  do  you  any  harm. 
Put  it  over  to  the  next  General  Court.”  And  he  tells  you  a 
lot  of  nonsense.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  truth  in  most  of 
what  he  tells  you.  He  holds  up,  as  you  will  remember,  the 
fact  that  the  Lawrences  have  a  great  claim  in  court  for  land 
damages',  and  therefore  there  is  no  haste  about  it.  Well,  I 
hold  in  my  hand  a  notice  issued  by  the  Street  Commissioners 
of  Boston  on  the  24th  of  January,  1887,  providing  for  the 
laying  out  of  Beacon  Street  to  the  Brookline  line.  Mr. 
Atkinson  speaks  of  that  of  which  he  knows  nothing  at  all. 
He  has  assailed  the  engineers  employed  by  the  promoters  of 
this  enterprise,  and  he  has  undertaken  to  reflect  upon  the 
selectmen  of  the  town  in  language  which  I  question  if  he 
would  have  dared  to  use  in  the  town  hall  of  Brookline. 
Here  are  these  two  engineers,  men  educated  as  engineers, 
men  of  the  highest  character  and  integrity,  who  have  made 
survey  after  survey  of  this  line,  as  well  as  many  others  in 
Brookline,  and  have  made  the  calculations  with  absolute 
accuracy,  published  the  quantities,  and  published  the  prices 
for  removing  the  earth, — estimates  which  cannot  be  ques¬ 
tioned  by  anybody  and  which  any  Board  of  Selectmen  can 
rely  upon  with  perfect  confidence.  He  undertakes  to  come 


STATEMENT  OF  HENRY  M.  WHITNEY. 


21 


in  here  and  assail  the  figures  which  they  have  given  on  the 
cost  of  construction,  on  the  ground  that  they  are  not  proper 
men,  and  then  he  has  undertaken  to  reflect  upon  the  charac¬ 
ter  of  the  Selectmen  of  Brookline.  And  why?  Simply 
because  they  have  been  unable  to  resist  the  logic  of  events, 
and  like  men,  when  they  have  investigated  a  subject  as  they 
have  this,  have  had  the  courage  to  come  forward  and  do 
what  they  have  done.  I  know  from  my  experience  that  no 
men  ever  gave  any  project  more  careful  investigation,  ever 
devoted  more  hours  to  it,  and  if  they  have  leaned  at  all,  they 
have  leaned  in  the  direction  of  a  larger  cost  than  these  very 
engineers. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  this  plan  has  been  introduced.  I 
did  not  intend  to  say  a  word  as  to  fliis  “  Plan  for  the  widen- 
inof  of  Beacon  Street  ”  to  this  committee,  for  I  do  not  think  it 
is  properly  a  part  of  this  hearing  ;  but  as  it  has  been  introduced, 
I  desire  to  say  a  few  words  upon  it. 

I  hold  in  my  hand  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed 
under  the  Eesolves  of  1856,  Chap.  76,  “in  relation  to  land 
in  the  Back  Bay,  and  accompanying  documents  ;  also,  the 
Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioners  on  the  Back  Bay.” 
From  ’51  to  ’56  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  has  been 
repeatedly  called  to  the  property  of  the  State  in  the  Back 
Ba3^  In  their  report  they  say  this  : 

“  Four  separate  Governors,  six  separate  State  administrations,  a  board 
of  commissioners  frequently  renewed  by  changes,  and  lastly,  the  present 
committee,  selected  under  circumstances  forbidding  the  possibility  of 
local  or  partisan  bias  or  prejudice,  have  all  concurred  in  directing  the 
attention  of  the  Legislature  to  this  property,  and  recommending  that  it  be 
surveyed  and  cherished.” 

This  was  the  origin,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  of 
Commonwealth  Avenue,  and  it  appears  that  this  committee 
and  the  commissioners  had  to  meet  for  a  long  ^me  the  preju¬ 
dices  of  the  city  of  Boston  in  laying  out  this  territorv. 

This  report  says  : 

“The  territoiy  in  question  is  now  a  useless  and  unsightly  waste. 
There  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  palpable  lack  of  room  for  dwelling-houses 
in  and  near  the  city  of  Boston.  Stores  are  usurping  the  streets  formerly 
occupied  by  mansions,  rents  are  enormously  high,  and  it  is  becoming  a 


22 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


serious  problem  where  the  people  whose  business  draws  them  to  the 
metropolis  of  New  En»;land  and  the  capital  of  the  State  shall  be  accom¬ 
modated.  The  Commonwealth’s  lands  in  the  Back  Bay  are  situated  in 
precisely  the  most  eligible  location  for  dwelling-houses.  The  conversion 
of  a  waste  of  water  into  a  magnificent  system  of  streets  and  squares, 
with  dwelling-houses  for  a  numerous  population,  is  a  transformation 
dictated  by  the  soundest  statesmanship  and  the  wisest  political  economy. 
There  are  obvious  advantages  in  the  execution  of  this  policy,  at  least  in 
its  preliminary  stages,  by  the  State  rather  than  by  private  individuals.  If 
the  territory  in  the  Back  Bay  were  exclusively  private  property  it  might 
be  ‘improved’  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  a  narrow-minded  and 
short-sighted  policy,  which  should  seek  to  secure  the  most  rapid  return  of 
money  for  the  least  original  outlay,  without  regard  to  the  higher  consid¬ 
erations  of  permanent  value  and  public  welfare  which  the  State  is  bound 
to  cherish.” 

I  desire  to  leave  this  document  with  the  committee  for  ex¬ 
amination,  because  it  is  a  subject  with  which  I,  for  one,  am 
proud  to  be  connected,  and  I  know  that  if  we  can  cany  out 
the  work  of  the  State  begun  thirty  years  ago,  you  and  I  and 
every  one  of  us,  if  we  live  thirty  years  from  this  time,  will 
look  back  upon  what  we  have  done  in  furtherance  of  the  pro¬ 
ject  with  satisfaction  and  pleasure. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  what  was  the  original  plan  of  the 
laying  out  of  Commonwealth  Avenue?  It  was  proposed  to 
have  two  or  three  avenues,  but  the  main  avenue  was  to  be 
120  feet  in  width.  Under  the  proper  committee  new  inves¬ 
tigations  were  instituted  and  it  was  found  desirable  to  change 
the  width  from  120  to  200  feet,  and  the  width  between  the 
houses  from  160  to  240  feet,  and  the  reasons  for  it  are  all 
given  here.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  read  this  entire  report 
to  you,  for  it  is  full  of  instruction  and  inspiration,  but  I  will 
dwell  only  upon  these  particular  parts.  It  goes  on  to  speak 
of  the  advantages  of  widenins:  this  avenue  to  200  feet,  and 
in  order  to  accomplish  the  widening  of  this  avenue  from  120 
to  200  feet,  the  State  actually  surrendered  twelve  acres  of 
land  in  the  fifll  basin  as  compensation  to  the  Water  Power 
Company  for  the  additional  80  feet  on  its  main  avenue. 

“  After  much  deliberation,” 

—  the  report  goes  on  to  say,  — 

“  the  committee  determined  to  lay  out  the  central  avenue  as  broad  as  a 
due  regard  to  the  width  of  the  other  streets  and  the  depths  of  the  lots 


STATEMENT  OF  HENRY  M.  WHITNEY. 


23 


would  allow ;  and  by  a  unanimous  vote  it  was  decided  to  make  it  200 
feet  in  width,  besides  reserved  spaces  of  20  feet  in  front  of  the  houses  on 
each  side,  making  a  total  width  of  240  feet  between  the  houses.” 

In  order  to  carry  out  this  magnificent  avenue  this  com¬ 
mittee  assumed  certain  obligations  for  which  they  made 
apology  and  asked  the  Legislature  to  ratify  them,  which  it  did. 

Now,  gentlemen,  thirty  years  ago  there  was  not  a  foot  of 
land  west  of  the  Public  Garden.  It  was  all,  as  this  com¬ 
mittee  say,  a  barren  waste,  and  every  foot  of  filling  had  to 
be  brought  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  away  in  the  country  ; 
and  yet  those  gentlemen  had  the  courage  to  stand  there  and 
pay  forty  cents  a  square  foot  for  filling.  And  what  was  the 
result?  Go  there  and  see  for  yourselves.  Is  there  any 
section  of  the  city  of  Boston,  is  there  any  section,  indeed,  of 
the  State  of  Massachusetts,  which  is  more  creditable  to  the 
State,  to  the  city  and  its  citizens,  than  that  very  spot?  The 
Institute  of  Technology  was  the  creation  of  that  movement ; 
the  Art  Museum,  the  large  block  of  land  for  the  Public 
Library  and  kindred  institutions,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  given  to  various  institutions,  and  upwards  of  four 
millions  of  dollars  poured  into  the  treasury  of  this  Common¬ 
wealth, —  all  these  were  the  results  of  that  magnificent 
enterprise. 

Now,  what  have  we  sought  to  do?  Profiting  by  the 
example  set  us  by  the  members  of  this  Legislature  thirty 
years  ago,  now  that  the  buildings  have  reached  the  limit  of 
the  avenue  (for  it  was  laid  out,  under  the  instructions  of  this 
committee,  simply  to  the  Brookline  line) — now  that  the  street 
is  entirely  made  to  its  limit,  made,  indeed,  to  the  forks  of 
the  road, — we  have  undertaken  to  carry  on  the  work  set  by 
the  State,  two  miles  and  a  half  farther.  There  is  Common¬ 
wealth  Avenue,  the  extreme  corner  of  that  map.  This 
plan  is  not  original  with  us.  We  started,  as  gentlemen 
have  said,  with  the  idea  of  making  this  extension  of  Com¬ 
monwealth  Avenue  200  feet  in  width,  but  we  found  that  the 
cost  of  doin^  so  would  be  too  o^reat. 

Now,  it  has  been  stated  as  a  reason  whv  tliis  committee 
should  impose  additional  restrictions  upon  the  laying  out  of 


24 


P.EACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Beacon  Street,  that  I  and  my  associates  did  not  go  to  every 
man  who  owned  land  upon  the  line  of  the  road  and  tell  him 
what  we  proposed  to  do,  before  buying  a  foot  of  it.  We 
did  not  proceed  in  that  way  ;  the  State  did  not  proceed  in 
that  way.  We  proceeded  in  the  only  way  that  it  was  possi¬ 
ble  to  proceed  to  make  the  thing  a  success,  and  the  only 
difficulty  that  we  encountered,  —  and  that  is  the  reason  why 

Ave  are  here  to-day,  —  was  that  there  were  some  estates  upoii 

• 

the  line  that  could  not  be  bought.  The  owners  are  asking 
for  large  damages  and  they  are  unwilling  to  pay  one  single 
cent  of  betterments.  Desiring  to  make  the  expense  as  light 
as  possible  to  the  town  of  Brookline,  my  associates  and  my¬ 
self,  representing  one-half  of  the  land  upon  the  line,  have 
given  it  to  the  town,  free  of  all  claims  for  grade  damages, 
and  all  claims  of  CA^eiy  name  or  nature,  and  haA^e  added  one- 
half  the  cost  of  construction  of  the  AA^hole  line.  And  yet 
men  come  up  here  and  gravely  say  :  “  Why  shouldn’t  you 
be  made  to  })ay  the  damages  that  everybody  else  asks,  and 
the  cost  of  construction  besides?”  It  is  charged  that  the 
stock  that  represents  our  property  has  advanced  in  the  mar¬ 
ket.  True.  We  expect  it  Avill  advance.  We  expect  that 
the  property  upon  this  avenue  will  do  exactly  AAdiat  Ave  have 
said  it  will  ;  that  it  Avill,  by  its  increased  value,  pay  back  to 
the  town  of  Brookline  in  taxes,  more  than  the  cost  of  con¬ 
struction.  We  are  not  alone  in  that  belief.  The  A  enerable 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  Assessors,  William  Lincoln,  Esq., 
at  the  very  first  hearing  upon  this  question,  came  forward 
and  stated  that,  in  his  judgment,  the  increased  value  of  the 
property  upon  the  line,  the  moment  that  it  Avas  laid  out,  Avould 
a  great  deal  more  than  pay  the  interest  upon  the  whole  cost  of 
construction,  and  that  Avithin  five  years  the  town  Avould 
realize  $100,000  income  from  it.  It  is  not  a  LTopian  dream. 
There  are  600  feet  of  land  on  Commonwealth  AA^enue  today 
that  pay  as  much  tax  to  the  city  of  Boston  as  the  Avhole  two 
miles  and  a  half  of  this  line.  Every  single  foot  of  land 
upon  Commonwealth  Avenue,  from  Arlington  Street  to  Dart¬ 
mouth  Street,  is  taxed  at  more  than  $13  a  square  foot,  and 
more  than  $3000  a  running  foot.  That,  mind  you,  is  exclu- 


STATEMENT  0‘F  HENRY  M.  WHITNEY. 


25 


sive  of  the  personal  tax,  and  the  personal  tax  of  people  who 
are  able  to  occupy  those  houses  is  much  more  than  the  real. 

Now,  how  have  we  proceeded?  I  am  perfectly  free  to 
admit  that  we  bought,  in  the  first  place,  all  the  land  upon 
the  line  of  Beacon  Street  that  we  could  buy,  at  the  lowest 
price  at  which  we  could  get  it.  We  have  paid  for  it.  We 
bought  it  in  the  open  market,  and  paid  whatever  was  neces¬ 
sary  to  pay,  and  we  were  perfectly  willing  to  take  our 
chances  upon  the  whole  thing.  I  say  we  have  offered  to 
give  the  town  over  six  thousand  feet  of  land,  which  is  one- 

half  the  number  of  feet  of  land  to  be  taken.  And  what  did 

* 

we  do  ?  We  went  first  and  employed  Mr.  Olmsted,  a  man 
who  stands  second  to  none  in  this  land  for  laying  out  ave¬ 
nues  of  this  kind,  whose  fame  extends*  from  Maine  to 
Mexico ;  and  ^ve  paid  him  for  laying  out  this  avenue  in  as 
tasteful  a  manner  as  he  knew  how.  We  })laced  no  restric¬ 
tions  whatsoever  upon  him.  AYhat  did  we  do  next?  AYe 
employed  two  of  the  most  competent  engineers  that  I  know, 
—  or  that  anybody  else,  in  my  judgment,  knows,  — to  make 
actual  surveys  upon  this  land.  There  is  no  guess-work  about 
it.  M^eeks  and  weeks  were  spent  in  making  these  surveys. 
For  three  or  four  weeks  a  corps  of  a  dozen  men  was  em¬ 
ployed  until  eleven  o’clock  at  night  in  making  these  estimates. 
There  is  no  2:uess-work  about  the  whole  thin«:,  although  it 
was  charged  repeatedly  here  the  other  day  by  Mr.  Atkinson 
and  others.  I  say  that  there  are  no  estimates  which  cannot 
be  fully  relied  upon  anywhere. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  what  have  we  added 
to  this  avenue  of  a  democratic  character?  We  have  placed 
in  it  a  railroad  track.  The  only  objection  that  any  citizen 
can  make  to  Commonwealth  Avenue  is,  that  it  is  a  place 
that  only  the  rich  can  enjoy.  AYe  have  placed  upon  this 
avenue  a  railroad  from  one  end  of  the  road  to  the  other. 
That  brino’s  it  within  the  abilitv  of  men  who  live  within 
reasonable  distance  of  the  avenue  to  enjoy  its  blessings  in 
going  to  and  from  their  business.  There  are  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  men  who  will  dwell  within  this  region  within 
the  next  thirtv  vears,  whether  this  avenue  is  built  or  not,  to 

VC' 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


M'honi  the  ability  to  ride  back  and  forth  over  an  avenue  of 
that  kind  Mull  be  a  blessing,  the  value  of  \vhich  it  is  impossi¬ 
ble  to  overestimate.  It  M'ill  give  to  the  laboring  man,  the 
mechanic,  the  clerk,  and  to  the  ])oor  woman,  the  only  op- 
i)ortunity  vdiich  they  may  possibly  have  of  looking  upon  a 
areen  tree  or  oreen  orass  from  one  vear’s  end  to  the  other. 
I  say,  that  in  addition  to  the  increased  value  of  the  land, 
the  carrying  out  of  this  improvement  in  the  manner  which 
Ave  have  jwoposed  is  a  thing  which  Avill  Iwing  the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  nunilAer  of  people. 

XoAV,  we  hope  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  will  impose  no  restrictions  upon  this  avenue  that  are 
not  just  and  })roper.  "\Ve  say,  that'  there  is  no  reason  Avhy 
this  avenue  should  be  treated  any  differently  from  any  other 

V 

avenue  in  the  town  of  Brookline.  AVe  sav,  that  the  citizens 
are  competent  themseh^es  to  decide  this  question  ;  and  we 
ask  you  here,  in  the  home  of  this  great  improA'ement,  that 
it  shall  suffer  no  detriment ;  that  it  shall  not  go  out  Avith  the 
sign  of  your  disapproA^al  in  any  AA'ay,  shape  or  manner,  but 
that  you  shall,  in  so  far  as  it  is  consistent  AAuth  your  consti¬ 
tutional  duty,  aid  in  ca  ery  Avay  the  carrying  forAA  ard  of  this 
great  enterpri  se . 

Pardon  me  one  moment  lonoer.  The  citA'  of  Boston,  as 
I  haA^e  shoAvn  you,  haA^e  giA'en  notice  of  their  intention  to 
lay  out  Beacon  Street  at  this  end.  The  cars  are  now  run¬ 
ning  and  filling  Beacon  Street  from  the  forks  of  the  road  to  St. 
Mary’s  Street.  It  has  been  proposed  to  enlarge  the  bridge, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  it  Avill  be  done  immediately,  before  the 
cars  are  taken  off, — the  Boston  &  Albany  Kailroad  haA'ing  a 
contract  to  take  their  cars  off  before  the  first  of  ^larch. 
We  desire  the  most  prompt  action  upon  this  question.  It 
is  unfair  to  ask  the  citA"  of  Boston  to  hiA"  out  this  aA'enue, 
unless  Brookline  is  to  lay  out  the  other  end.  We  belieA^e 
that  this  committee,  fully  understanding  this  question,  Avill 
agree  Avith  us,  and  giA^e  us  prompt  and  decisiAX  action.  And 
I  may  say  that  the  toAvn  also  desires  })rompt  and  speedy 
action. 


TESTIMONY  OF  MR.  BAKER,  TOWN  CLERK. 


27 


TESTIMONY  OF  MR.  BAKER,  TOWN  CLERK. 

✓ 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  I  think  you  said  you  had  been  town 
clerk  for  thirty-five  years?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  During  that  time,  of  course,  you  have  been  familiar 
with  the  proceedings  of  the  ofiScers  of  the  town,  the  select¬ 
men,  in  laying  out  and  locating  roads,  have  you  not?  A.  I 
have. 

Q.  AYill  you  please  state  to  the  committee  whether  in 
this  particular  case  they  took  unusual  precaution  to  advise 
the  town  on  the  subject?  A.  I  should  think,  from  what  I 
know  of  it,  that  they  took  very  great  care  to  inform  them¬ 
selves  in  relation  to  the  matter.  The}^  had  quite  a  number  of 
hearings, — several  preliminary  hearings,  and  then  some  two 
or  three  formal  hearings. 

Q.  AYhen  did  they  first  begin  to  consider  the  matter? 
A.  I  should  think  as  early  as  June  or  July;  I  do  not  recol¬ 
lect  exactly. 

Q.  Of  last  year?  A.  Yes,  sir,  of  last  year. 

Q.  And  when  were  the  meetings  held?  You  mean  by 
meetings,  I  suppose,  meetings  open  to  the  public,  do  you 
not?  A.  Yes,  sir,  meetings  in  which  they  invited  those 
who  were  interested  in  this  matter  to  appear  before  them, 
and  give  them  such  information  as  they  desired  to  obtain. 

Q.  And  how  long  a  period  did  that  cover?  A.  As  I 
have  it  in  my  mind,  I  think  the  first  meeting  was  held  some¬ 
time  in  July. 

Q.  And  you  say  there  were  several  of  those  meetings 
prior  to  the  town  meeting  which  we  have  spoken  about  here 
so  often?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  often  do  the  selectmen  hold  their  regular  meet¬ 
ings?  A.  Twice  a  week. 

Q.  AV'hen  you  speak  of  the  meetings  which  were  held, 
you  do  not  refer  to  these  meetings,  do  you?  A.  Meetings 
in  which  this  special  matter  was  up  for  consideration,  to 
which  they  invited  people  to  come  and  appear  before  them, 
and  give  their  views  in  relation  to  the  matter,  either  for  or 
against. 


28 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Q.  Those  meetings  were  notified  pu])licly,  were  they  not? 
A.  They  were. 

Q.  So,  if  I  understand  you  correctly,  ever  since  last  July 
the  selectmen  have  been  holding  at  intervals  public  meetings, 
at  which  any  citizen  had  an  opportunity  to  be  heard  upon 
this  matter,  either  for  or  against;  am  I  correct?  A.  That 
is  what  1  mean  ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  what  precautions  they  took 
when  they  held  the  town  meeting  of  the  20th  of  December, 
which  is  the  meeting  that  we  have  spoken  of,  the  meeting 
which  authorized  this  petition  ?  A.  They  pursued  the  usual 
course.  They  issued  their  warrant,  a  copy  of  which  I  have 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  committee,  and  also  gave  a  report 
upon  the  articles  in  the  warrant  stating  their  views,  which  I 
have  also  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  committee.  This  was 
distributed  to  every  house  in  town  four  days  before  the  town 
meeting.  When  the  meeting  was  held,  every  person  was 
supposed  to  have  had  complete  and  full  notice  of  the  meet¬ 
ing,  and  of  the  objects  of  the  meeting. 

Q.  Has  it  not  often  been  the  case  in  town  meetings  that 
the  meetings  themselves  have  voted  to  adopt  the  ballot  upon 
certain  questions?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  course  is  open,  of  course,  in  the  future  as  it  has 
been  in  the  past?  A.  I  consider  it  entirely  competent  for 
the  town  meeting  to  devise  any  measure  by  which  they  will 
be  governed  during  that  meeting,  either  in  voting  or  other¬ 
wise. 

Q.  From  your  long  experience  in  these  matters, — and  I 
may  add,  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  that  Mr.  Baker  has 
had  legislative  experience  as  well, — are  you  familiar  with  any 
precedent  for  such  legislation  as  is  sought  here  by  the  amend¬ 
ment  proposed?  That  is,  lohere  a  town  has  voted  unani¬ 
mously  to  petition  the  Legislature  for  a  certain  Act,  the  Legis¬ 
lature  has  passed  the  Act  with  an  amendment  requiring  a 
two-thirds  vote,  by  ballot,  before  the  toion  can  have  what  it  has 
asked  for?  A.  I  do  not  know  of  any  such  case. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  any  such  case  in  any  other 
part  of  the  Commonwealth?  A.  I  never  have  ;  no,  sir. 


TESTIMONY*  OF  CHARLES  U.  COTTING. 


29 


TESTIMONY  OF  CHARLES  U.  COTTING. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  You  are  a  resident  of  Brookline? 
A.  Yes. 

Q.  Mliat  is  your  occupation?  A.  Manager  of  real  . 
estate. 

Q.  You  have  had  a  large  experience  in  that  line,  have 
you  not,  sir?  A.  Yes. 

Q.  You  have  managed  a  great  deal  of  property  in  the 
city  and  in  Brookline,  I  believe?  A.  Yes. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  lived  in  Brookline?  A.  Forty- 
five  years. 

Q.  Are  you  familiar  with  this  so-called  Beacon  Street 
improvement?  A.  Yes. 

Q.  Speaking  as  a  citizen  of  the  town,  do  you  feel  that 
any  information  has  been  withheld  from  the  citizens  by  the 
selectmen,  acting  for  the  town?  A.  As  far  as  I  know,  and 
I  think  I  do  know,  the  town  have  full  information  in  regard 
to  it.  I  attended  two  nr  three  hearings  myself,  and  I  at¬ 
tended  the  last  town  meeting  at  which  the  question,  which  I 
understand  will  come  before  you  to-day,  was  voted  upon. 

I  think  the  parties  whom  I  directly  represent  pay  taxes  on 
somewhere  from  a  million  to  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars,  — 
that  is  a  wide  margin,  I  know,  but  I  state  it  within  bounds, 
—  in  the  town,  and  therefore  I  feel  that  they  have  a  direct 
interest  in  the  town,  and  a  direct  interest  in  any  expenditures 
which  the  town  may  make.  I  have  considered  this  matter 
widely,  and  I  think  it  is  a  wise  movement  for  the  town  to 
make,  or  for  the  town  to  be  authorized  to  make. 

Q.  Is  it  not  for  the  interest  of  Boston  as  well?  A. 
There  is  no  question  about  it  in  my  mind,  although  I  was 
only  looking  at  it  from  the  standpoint  of  Brookline.  I  think 
it  is  decidedly  for  the  interest  of  Boston. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  that  the  city  of  Boston  has  already 
issued  notice  of  their  intention  to  widen  the  Boston  end  of 
this  street?  A.  I  saw  it  in  the  newspaper  yesterday  morn- 


30 


BEACON  STBEET  IMPRO\^MENT. 


Q.  (By  Mr.  Hyj)!-:.)  Do  the  people  whom  you  represent 
own  i)roperty  ])ordering  on  the  line  of  this  })roposed  im¬ 
provement?  A.  Yes,  sir;  nearly  all  of  them. 

Q.  And  Inn  e  they  relinquished  a  ])ortion  of  their  land 
to  the  town  l)y  written  releases,  for  the  i)urpose  of  this  ini- 
})rovement,  if  the  town  shall  undertake  it?  A.  They  have. 
In  my  own  ease,  I  have  given  twenty  per  cent  of  my  land 
which  Imrders  on  this  street,  for  the  henefit  of  this  improve- 
nient,  because  I  believe  it  will  be  an  iinprovement.  Of 
course,  in  giving  my  own  land,  I  look  at  it  from  simply  a 
selfish  view. 

Q.  Now,  supposing  this  project  should  be  given  up  for  the 
])resent  is  it  probable  that  so  large  an  amount  of  land  could 
again  be  l)rouo’ht  together  to  be  given  to  the  town,  as  has  al- 
ready  been  secured  ?  A.  I  do  not  believe  it  could,  sir.  It  was 
with  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  I  could  get  my  own  people  to 
agree,  they  were  so  scattered.  Of  course,  before  I  could 
give  their  land,  I  had  to  consult  with  them,  and  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  I  could  reach  them  all  so  as  to  obtain  their 
consent.  I  know  in  my  own  circle  it  would  be  very  difficult 

c.' 

to  do  it  again. 

Q.  Are  any  of  your  people  on  this  avenue  interested  in 
the  YYst  End  Land  Company?  A.  Not  a  dollar,  sir. 
The}^  have  not  a  dollar  of  interest,  and  I  have  not,  directly 
or  indirectly.  My  only  interest  is  as  a  citizen  of  Brookline, 
as  you  know. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  B  AY.)  I  ask  you  now,  as  an  expert  in  real 
estate,  familiar  with  toAvn  matters,  is  it  not  fair  to  assume 
that  it  would  cost  as  much  for  the  town  to  widen  this  street 
to  one  hundred  feet,  without  the  aid  that  is  given  by  this 
company  and  the  interests  it  rei)resents,  as  it  would  to 
widen  under  the  proposed  plan  to  one  hundred  and  sixty 
feet?  A.  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  doubt  of  that.  If  I 
understand  your  question,  it  is,  supposing  the  toAvn  should 
issue  the  ordinary  order  of  notice  that  they  were  to  Aviden 

t  ^ 

the  street  to  a  hundred  feet,  and  make  the  l)est  bargain  they 
could,  and  go  on  and  do  it,  A\diich  Avould  cost  the  more,  to 
do  that  or  to  widen  it  to  one  hundred  and  sixtA'  feet  under 
the  present  plan?  Is  that  the  question? 


TESTIMONY  OF  CHARLES  U.  COTTIXG.  31 

Q.  That  is  it.  A.  I  think  the  advantage  Avould  he  in 
favor  of  the  widenins:  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  because 
there  has  been  so  much  land  contributed. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Hyde.)  One  single  question  more,  Mr. 
Cotting.  I  may  say  to  the  committee,  that  I  suppose  those 
of  us  who  know  Mr.  Cotting,  will  agree  that  there  is  no 
man  in  Boston  who  has  a  larger  experience  in  real  estate 
matters,  or  whose  judgment  would  be  regarded  as  based 
upon  more  experience  than  his  would  be.  "What  do  you 
think,  if  this  improvement  is  carried  through,  taking  the 
town  as  a  whole,  as  to  whether  or  not  it  will  be  a  benetit 
to  the  town  to  have  the  improvement  made?  A.  I  think 
the  general  benetit  will  be  for  the  town. 

Q.  (By  the  Committee.)  Is  this  land  that  is  to  be  con¬ 
tributed  by  the  land  holders,  to  be  contributed  on  condition 
the  street  shall  be  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  wide?  A.  I 
have  not  seen  the  other  releases,  but  the  release  of  the  land 
which  I  represent  is  based  upon  the  street  being  widened  to 
one  hundred  and  sixty  feet. 

Q.  Otherwise  than  that,  the  land  would  not  be  contrib¬ 
uted?  A.  The  land  would  not  be  contributed.  And  more 
than  that,  the  town  has  only  until  the  first  of  July,  —  some¬ 
body  will  correct  me  if  I  am  wrong ;  July  1st,  I  think,  is 
the  limit.  One  of  the  parties  who  signed  a  release  has 
already  gone  abroad,  and  I  know  it  would  be  very  difficult 
to  get  his  consent  again. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Hyde.)  M^ould  you  want  to  undertake,  if 
this  was  not  taken  advantage  of  by  the  town  by  the  1st  of 
July,  to  get  your  releases  renewed?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  You  are  in  favor,  then,  of  the  ut¬ 
most  promptness  of  action?  A.  I  am.  As  I  understand 
the  question,  it  is,  whether  the  town  shall  be  authorized  to 
consider  this  question.  I  think  the  quicker  it  is  done  the 
better;  and  if  the  town  decides  it  does  not  want  to  do  it,  it 
can  so  vote,  and  the  matter  can  be  settled  one  wav  or  the 
other. 

Q.  In  your  judgment,  is  not  the  town  the  jn-oper  party 
to  consider  this  question  on  its  merits  (after  it  has  the 


32 


BEACON  STRP:ET  IMPROVEMENT. 


right  to  do  so),  without  going  to  anybody  else?  A.  I  do 
not  knoM^  as  I  understand  correctly,  unless  gentlemen  pro¬ 
pose  to  put  the  town  under  guardianship,  and  have  some¬ 
body  else  decide  for  her. 

t 

Mr.  Fay.  That  is  the  suggestion  I  made  yesterday ; 
that  if  the  amendment  were  adopted,  I  should  apply  for  a 
general  act  of  guardianship. 

Mr.  CoTTiNG.  I  do  not  knoAV  exactly  what  the  question 
is  ;  but  if  you  ask  me  Avhether  I  think  the  toAvn  meetings  in 
Brookline  are  up  to  the  average  of  town  meetings  through¬ 
out  the  State,  I  should  say,  decidedly,  they  were  ;  and  the  cit¬ 
izens  are  fully  competent,  I  think,  to  decide  any  question 
for  themselves.  I  never  kncAV  anything  to  be  so  hurried 
through  the  town  meeting,  that  it  was  not  sifted  to  the  bot¬ 
tom  before  it  got  through,  and  that  the  citizens  did  not  act 
understandingly  upon  it.  The  question  of  the  introduction 
of  water  was  one  invoh  ing  a  a  ery  lieaAy  expense  ;  that  was 
thoroughly  considered,  and  it  Avas  a  very  wise  move.  The 
next  large  expenditure  Ave  made  Avas  for  sewers,  and  that 
was  a  very  wise  moA^e.  I  do  not  believe  you  could  get  one- 
tenth  of  the  people  to  put  themselves  back  again,  even  if 
they  could.  And  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  question  which 
the  citizens  of  Brookline  are  not  competent  to  decide  for 
themselves.  All  of  the  people  are  intelligent,  and  I  think 
the  people  are  capable  of  deciding  this  question  in  town 
meeting. 


TESTIMONY  OF  \YILLIAM  LINCOLN. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  You  are  an  officer  of  the  town  of 
Brookline,  are  you  not  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  office  do  you  hold?  A.  I  am  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Assessors. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  on  the  Board  of  Assessors  ? 
A.  Fifteen  years. 

Q.  Hoav  long  have  you  lived  in  Brookline  ?  A.  Thirty- 
five  years. 


TESTIMONY  OF  WILLIAM  LINCOLN. 


Q.  ,  State  whether  or  not  you  are  familiar  with  this  Beacon 
Street  improvement  project,  with  the  localities  and  with  the 
general  plan  proposed?  A.  I  think  I  am,  sir. 

Q.  What  is  your  judgment  in  regard  to  it ;  whether  or 
not  you  think  the  Act  which  is  asked  for  should  be  granted  ? 
A.  I  should  take  up  two  or  three  points  in  answering  that 
question,  if  you  would  allow  me. 

Q.  Please  go  on  in  your  own  way,  and  state  briefly  and 
pointedly  to  the  committee  what  you  think  as  to  the  whole 
subject.  A.  As  to  what  makes  this  particularly  desirable 
for  the  town  of  Brookline  at  the  present  time,  I  think  the 
thing  to  be  kept  in  view  at  all  times  is  that  the  value  of  this 
improvement  depends  largely,  and  almost  wholly,  upon  the 
style  with  which  it  is  carried  out.  The  plan  which  is  pro¬ 
posed  by  this  syndicate  of  gentlemen  meets  my  views  as 
likely  to  accomplish  the  great  object  that  is  desired.  By  the 
construction  of  this  beautiful  avenue,  adapted  to  the  uses  of 
a  city  of  400,000  inhabitants  at  one  end  and  a  charming- 
place  of  suburban  residence  three  miles  away  at  the  other 
end,  the  population  of  the  city  will  be  drawn  out  along  the 
line  of  this  road,  and  this  will  secure  the  occupation  and  de¬ 
velopment  of  all  the  adjacent  lands  for  valuable  estates,  and 
will  very  much  enhance  the  value  of  the  property. 

Q.  Passing,  if  you  please,  to  the  practical  cost  of  con¬ 
struction  under  this  plan,  can  you  give  the  committee  any 
information  as  to  the  comparative  cost  under  this  arrange¬ 
ment,  with  the  assistance  rendered  by  this  syndicate,  and  the 
cost  of  widening  without  any  such  assistance?  A.  Well, 
sir,  I  suppose  the  gentlemen  of  the  committee  are  as  compe¬ 
tent  in  every  respect,  perhaps,  except  as  to  their  knowledge 
of  the  value  of  the  land,  to  answer  that  question  as  I  am. 
But  in  my  judgment  it  would  cost  the  town  of  Brookline  less 
to  carry  out  this  plan  as  presented  by  these  gentlemen,  than 
it  would  to  widen  the  street  to  a  hundred  feet,  and  under<ro 
all  the  diflSculties  which  they  would  have  to  undergo  when 
all  these  advantages  have  been  cast  aside,  and  they  would 
have  to  construct  the  road  the  best  way  they  could. 

Q.  So  that,  in  your  judgment,  the  town  will  get  sixty 
additional  feet  of  width  under  this  plan  at  no  greater  cost 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


M 


tlian  it  would  have  to  pay  to  widen  to  one  hundred  feet? 
.V.  That  is  my  judgment.  Another  very  important  point 
which  should  be  kept  in  mind  here,  is  that  the  value  of  the 
adjoining  estates  will  not  be  enhanced  greatly  by  the  widen¬ 
ing  to  a  hundred  feet.  An  avenue  one  hundred  feet  wide 
will  not  be  such  an  avenue  as  is  proposed  by  this  plan.  It 
Avill  not  be  the  attractive  avenue  which  will  give  the  value  to 
the  adjoining  lands  tjiat  will  be  given  if  this  plan  is  carried 
out.  That,  I  think,  is  a  very  important  matter,  because  I 
think  the  enhanced  value  of  the  real  estate  on  the  line  of 
this  road  will  more  than  pay  for  the  whole  of  the  expense, 
to  say  nothing  about  the  addition  of  personal  estate  to  the 
town  of  Brookline  which  will  be  liable  to  taxation. 

Q.  What  effect  do  you  think  it  will  have  Upon  the  taxes 
of  the  town?  A.  I  think  it  will  furnish  the  town  with 
taxable  property  to  such  an  extent  that  it  will  diminish  the 
rate  of  taxation  on  the  rest  of  the  property  in  the  town,  and 
be  of  great  benefit  to  all  the  inhabitants. 

Q.  You  are  heartily  in  favor,  then,  of  the  project,  are 
you  ?  A.  I  am  very  heartily  in  favor  of  it,  indeed. 

Q.  So  far  as  you  know,  what  is  the  general  sentiment  of 
the  town  ?  A.  I  should  think  the  general  sentiment  of  the 
town  was  strongly  in  favor  of  it. 


TESTIMONY  OF  SULLIVAN  COOLIDGE. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  You  are  a  resident  of  Brookline? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  lived  there?’  A.  Most  seventy 
years. 

Q.  And  your  occupation  is  what?  A.  It  has  been 
farming. 

Q.  Are  you  familiar  with  Beacon  Street,  its  locality’ and 
so  on  ?  A.  I  am,  sir. 


TESTIMONY  OF  SULLIVAN  COOLIDGE. 


35 


Q.  Are  you  familiar  with  the  projected  improvement  of 
Beacon  Street?  A.  I  am,  in  some  sense. 

Q.  You  know  it  is  proposed  to  widen  it  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet?  A.  I  know  that  is  the  proposition  now. 

Q.  In  your  judgment  as  a  long,  and  I  assume  a  life-long, 
resident  of  Brookline,  whether  or  not  this  is  an  expedient 
and  economical  project  for  the  town  to  embark  upon?  A. 
Y"e  consider  it  so ;  very  much  so. 

Q.  It  is  extremely  desirable,  you  think?  A.  I  do,  very.  . 
-  Q.  How  about  the  cost  of  it ;  do  you  think  it  will  pay 
for  itself?  A.  I  do  not  know  as  it  would  cost  a  great  deal 
more  to  widen  it  out  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  than  it 
would  to  one  hundred  feet. 

Q.  That  is,  you  mean,  on  account  of  the  gifts  of  land 
from  the  Land  Company  and  others?  A.  Yes,  sir.  And 
then,  having  the  railroad  separate  from  the  travelled  part  of 
the  street,  I  think,  will  enhance  the  value  of  the  propeidy 
very  much.  We  know  that  railroads  are  a  great  benefit, 
but  they  are  a  great  nuisance  for  us  who  have  teams,  and  have 
to  drive  over  them. 

Q.  So  that  the  plan  of  shading  the  tracks,  and  at  the 
same  time  protecting  the  roadway,  is,  in  your  judgment,  an 
excellent  feature  of  this  project?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Fay.  That  is  a  point,  I  may  remark,  gentlemen, 
which  possibly  has  not  been  brought  out,  as  yet,  and  it  ex¬ 
plains,  perhaps,  the  “  park”  theory  of  certain  remonstrants. 

‘  ‘  Planting  spaces  ”  are  to  be  put  on  each  side  of  the  street 
railway  track.  That  will  be  a  great  advantage,  because 
when  the  trees  are  there  it  will  render  the  railroad  cars 
themselves  less  obtrusive,  less  unsightly,  and  it  will  also  be 
a  protection  and  a  safeguard  against  runaway  horses,  or  any¬ 
thing  of  that  kind  ;  and  it  will  also  add  very  materially  to  the 
beauty  of  the  street,  without  turning  it  into  a  park,  but  sim¬ 
ply  leaving  it  as  a  highway  treated  in  a  novel  shape.  That 
is  what  the  witness  refers  to.  I  have  not  asked  the  previous 
witnesses  anything  in  regard  to  this,  but  as  they  have  all 
said  they  heartily  approve  the  plan,  I  assume  they  approve 
that  feature  of  it. 


36 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


0 


TESTIMONY  OF  PHILIP  S.  ALLEN. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  Are  you  a  native  of  Brookline?  A. 
I  have  lived  there  thirty-seven  years.  • 

Q.  You  are  familiar  with  the  cost  of  the  construction  of 
streets?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  May  I  ask  what  your  occupation  is?  A.  Contractor. 

Q.  Have  you  examined  the  estimates  for  the  proposed 
‘construction  of  Beacon  Street?  A.  Yes,  sir.  I  had  a' 
schedule  of  the  quantities  required  in  all  parts  of  this  con¬ 
struction  and  I  carried  out  the  cost  beside  each  item,  and 
gave  it  to  the  engineers  to  make  their  estimates,  with  other 
contractors  who  did  the  same,  as  I  was  told. 

Q.  Have  you  examined  the  estimates  which  have  been 
made  by  Messrs.  Aspinwall  and  Lincoln?  A.  I  have,  sir. 

Q.  Whether  or  not  in  your  judgment  they  are  conserva¬ 
tive  and  safe  estimates  ?  A.  I  think  they  are.  The  esti¬ 
mate  I  made  at  the  time  was  on  a  200-foot  avenue,  which  is 
more,  of  course,  than  the  cost  of  constructing  a  160-foot 
avenue. 

Mr.  Fay.  I  may  state  here,  gentlemen,  perhaps  with  pro¬ 
priety,  that  the  original  plan  of  the  West  End  Land  Company 
was  to  make  this  avenue  200  feet  wide,  and  afterwards,  at  the 
request  or  suggestion  of  the  town,  through  its  selectmen, 
they  modified  the  plan  to  160  feet. 

Q.  You  made  your  estimates  on  the  basis  of  a  200-foot 
street?  A.  Yes,  sir;  and  I  only  estimated  for  the  quanti¬ 
ties  presented  by  the  engineers. 

Q.  You  say  you  have  lived  in  Brookline  for  thirty-seven 
years ;  state  whether  or  not  this  matter  has  been  fairly  and 
squarely  brought  before  the  town ;  whether  there  has  been 
any  neglect  of  duty  on  the  part  of  the  petitioners,  or  whether 
there  has  been  any  information  withheld  to  which  the  town 
was  entitled,  in  your  judgment?  A.  I  should  not  say  there 
had  been  anything  withheld.  I  think  the  people  have  had 
full  liberty  to  investigate,  and  they  have  had  all  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  they  could  ask  for  to  look  into  this  matter. 


TESTIMONY  OF  PHILIP  S.  ALLEN. 


37 


Q.  What  is  the  sentiment  of  the  town  in  regard  to  it,  so 
far  as  you  know?  A.  Well,  I  am  over  all  parts  of  the 
town,  and  it  is  rarely  I  meet  a  person  who  is  opposed  to  this 
scheme.  There  may  be  some  individual  who  owns  a  place 
on  the  line,  who  wants  to  get  all  the  award  he  can,  or  who 
does  not  want  to  have  to  remove  from  where  he  lives,  and 
there  may  be  a  few  others,  but  it  is  very  rarely  that  I  meet 
one. 

Q.  The  general  sentiment  is  in  favor  of  it?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Fay  (to  the  Committee).  When  I  ask  that  question, 
as  I  have  asked  it  of  several  witnesses,  I  mean,  of  course, 
with  proper  limitations  as  to  expense.  That  is  something 
we  will  decide  after  you  give  us  the  Act.  We  do  not  go 
for  it  at  any  price,  but  we  go  for  it  at  a  proper  price. 


TESTIMONY  OF  HON.  JOHN  W.  CANDLER. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  You  are  an  old  resident  of  Brook¬ 
line?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  1  How  long  have  you  lived  there  ?  A.  About  thirty- 
eight  years. 

Q.  During  that  time  you  have  held  several  official  posi¬ 
tions,  have  you  not?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  represented  the  town  here  in  the  Legisla¬ 
ture,  and  in  Washington?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  had  more  or  less  familiarity,  I  presume, 
with  the  laying  out  and  construction  of  townways?  A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  given  any  attention  to  the  subject  of  the 
Beacon  Street  improvement, — to  the  proposed  construction 
of  the  avenue?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  means  of  information  have  you  had,  as  a  citi¬ 
zen  of  the  town,  to  familiarize  yourself  with  this  project? 
A.  I  have  read  the  reports  very  carefully. 

Q.  What  reports  do  you  refer  to,  sir?  A.  Everything 
that  has  been  published  that  I  could  see. 


38 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Q.  There  has  been  a  good  deal  puldished,  has  there  not? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  The  discussion  of  this  matter  has  occupied  several 
months,  has  it  not,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Baker?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  there  anything  else  in  your  judgment,  as  a  citizen 
of  the  town,  and  as  an  ex-official  of  the  town,  which  the 
selectmen  could  do,  in  order  to  throw  more  light  upon  this 
project,  before  the  town  votes  upon  the  acceptance  of  the  Act  ? 
A.  I  should  think  it  was  not  necessary  to  discuss  it  further. 
Of  course,  that  is  a  matter  which  individuals  will  make  up 
their  own  opinions  about.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  am 
satisfied. 

Q.  I  am  not  speaking,  understand  me,  about  the  dis¬ 
cussion  on  the  merits  of  the  project,  but  I  am  speaking  now 
of  the  preliminary  work  which  is  required  or  needful  to  be 
done;  whether  the  town  officials  have,  to  your  knowledge, 
neglected  their  duty  in  any  respect?  A.  I  think  it  has 
been  very  carefully  done.  I  think  there  has  been  more 
attention  paid  to  this  than  to  any  important  measure  that  I 
remember  which  has  been  brought  before  the  town. 

Q.  Has  there  not  been  a  good  deal  of  discussion  of  this 
subject  in  the  two  local  newspapers  of  the  town?  A.  I 
have  noticed  a  good  deal  of  discussion,  and  I  have  heard  it 
generally  discussed  by  the  people.  I  do  not  know  that  I 
recall  any  special  discussion  in  the  papers,  but  I  have  read 
articles  in  the  papers  in  regard  to  it. 

Q.  Have  you  any  interest  in  this  matter,  except  that  of 
a  citizen  ?  A.  A  general  interest ;  I  am  a  property  holder 
in  the  town. 

Q.  None  of  your  real  estate  touches  this  street  in  any 
part?  A.  Nothing  of  my  own. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Hyde.)  I  should  like  to  have  you  state  in 
your  own  way, —  you  generally  have  some  views  upon  mat¬ 
ters  in  your  own  town, — what  you  think  ofMhe  whole 
matter,  and  what  its  benefit  will  or  will  not  be?  A.  1  have 
looked  at  it  in  a  general  way,  Mr.  Chairman.  I  have  been 
very  much  interested  in  the  laying  out  of  avenues  in  Brook¬ 
line.  That  has  been  the  one  thing  that  Boston  and  Brook- 


I 


TESTIMONY  OF  HON.  JOHN  W.  CANDLER.  39 

line  have  neglected  for  25  years.  We  have  had  no  proper 
direct  communication  between  Boston  and  Brookline.  For 
a  great  many  years  we  have  gone  through  Roxbury  in  the 
horse  cars  to  Boston,  and  we  have  had  the  Milldam,  which 
is  at  an  angle  the  other  way,  which  we  could  drive  over,  but 
there  has  been  no  direct  communication  with  Brookline, 
either  by  private  conveyance  or  by  horse  railways.  Twenty 
years  -ago  I  advocated  in  the  Legislature  the  laying 
out  of  a  direct  avenue  to  Brookline,  —  the  extension  of 
Boylston  Street.  I  felt  it  was  very  important  that  we  should 
have  a  line  of  horse  cars  to  accommodate  the  masses  of  the 
people  with  more  rapid  transit  than  we  then  had,  and  at 
lower  prices,  and  I  got  through  the  Legislature,  twenty  years 
ago,  a  charter  for  a  horse  railway  upon  the  extension  of 
Boylston  Street.  It  would  have  been  a  wise  thing  for  the 
State  and  the  city  and  the  town,  and  it  would  greatly  have 
increased  the  value  of  property,  if  that  thing  had  been  carried 
through  twenty  years  ago.  Feeling  an  interest,  as  I  do, 
in  everything  that  is  of  interest  to  the  town  of  Brookline 
and  to  Boston,  when  this  project  came  up,,  which  is  now 
before  you,  although  I  had  no  personal  interest  in  it 
whatever,  I  examined  it,  and  I  thought  it  was  an  admir¬ 
able  scheme.  The  more  I  looked  at  it,  the  better  I  was 
impressed  with  it.  I  hope  the  rnen  who  are  in  it  will  make 
some  money.  You  cannot  get  capital,  which  is  conserva¬ 
tive,  to  take  hold  of  any  enterprise  unless  there  is  some 
prospect  of  a  return  from  it,  and  I  hope  these  men  will 
make  some  money  out  of  this.  But  at  the  same  time  I  am 
satisfied,  as  a  citizen  of  the  town,  that  the  town  will  be  very 
much  benefited,  if  the  project  can  be  carried  out,  as  I  hope 
it  will  be.  My  views,  you  see,  are  general.  I  insist  upon  it 
that  the  city  of  Boston,  the  authorities,  and  the  influential 
men  in  Brookline,  have  not  been  alive  to  the  necessities  and 
the  demands  of  the  two  localities  in  this  direction.  The 
growth  of  Boston  is  towards  Brookline,  and  years  ago  straight 
avenues  and  means  of  communication  should  have  been  laid 
out  between  the  town  and  the  city.  There  is  no  reason  why 
the  rich  man,  if  he  wants  to  build  his  house  at  this  end  of 


40 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Commonwealth  Avenue,  should  not  do  so,  but  it  is  a  good 
plan,  also,  to  lay  the  avenue  out  so  that  the  poor  man  shall 
be  able  to  have  quick  transit,  and  be  able  to  have  a  house, 
which  shall  be  accessible,  at  the  other  end  of  the  avenue.  I 
was  so  well  satisfied  that  this  was  a  wise  thins:  for  the  benefit 

O 

of  the  people,  that  I  have  looked  into  it  with  more  care  than 
I  ordinarily  should,  and  on  general  principles  I  am  very 
strongly  in  favor  of  it.  I  hope  facilities  will  be  extended,  so 
that  everything  can  be  done  in  a  legal  and  proper  and  con¬ 
servative  way. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  In  your  judgment,  what  would  be 
the  effect  of  carrying  out  this  improvement,  on  the  taxes  in 
Brookline?  A.  I  think  it  would  have  an  effect,  on  the 
whole,  to  reduce  taxation.  I  base  my  approval  of  it  on  gen¬ 
eral  principles.  I  say  that  no  avenue  that  is  called  for  is 
ever  laid  out  in  a  city  or  town,  but  what  it  promotes  the 
growth  of  the  town ;  and  no  rapid  transit  can  be  extended 
into  the  suburbs  of  a  city  without  benefiting  the  town  by  in¬ 
creasing  the  value  of  the  taxable  property.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  opposition  to  the  parks,  but  if  you  will  look 
into  the  statistics,  as  I  have  done,  you  will  find  that  they 
have  been  of  great  benefit. 

Q.  You  refer  to  the  system  of  parks  in  Boston?  A. 
I  do. 

Q.  Has  it  not  been  the  uniform  experience,  Mr.  Candler, 
that  the  extension  of  avenues  with  horse  railroads  upon  them, 
has  developed  and  improved  the  property  abutting  on  the 

avenues?  A.  Certainlv. 

• ' 


tp:stimony  of  hon.  willhim  aspinwall. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  You  are  a  resident  of  Brookline? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  lived  there?  A.  I  have  lived 
there  a  part  of  every  year  for  53  years,  and  I  have  been  a 
voter  and  tax-})ayer  there  for  40  years. 


TESTIMONY  OF  HON.  WILLIAM  ASPINWALL. 


41 


Q.  During  that  time  you  have  held  several  positions,  have 
you  not,  in  the  town?  A.  Yes,  sir;  I  have  been  town 
clerk,  selectman  and  assessor.  I  believe  the  only  office  I 
now  hold  is  trustee  of  the  Public  Library,  which  office  I 
have  held  for  about  twenty-five  years. 

Q.  You  were  at  one  time  Senator  from  that  district,  were 
you  not?  A.  ‘I  represented  the  town  twice  in  the  Legisla¬ 
ture,  in  *1851  and  1852,  and  the  County  of  Norfolk  under  the 
old  constitution,  in  1854. 

Q.  So  that,  practically,  you  have  held  almost  every  office 
within  the  gift  of  the  town.  Is  not  that  so,  sir?  A.  Yes, 
sir ;  all  but  school  committee  ;  I  never  was  on  the  school 
committee. 

Q.  State  whether  or  not,  during  your  residence  in  Brook¬ 
line,  you  have  been  more  or  less  actively  interested  in  town 
matters  ?  A.  ,  Yes,  sir ;  I  have  always  considered,  since  I 
became  a  voter  in  Brookline,  that  it  was  my  duty  to  attend 
the  town  meetings,  and  I  have  done  so  whenever  I  was 
physically  able.^  Sometimes  I  have  been  unwell  and  not  able 
to  go,  but  I  have  considered  it  a  duty  to  myself  and  a  duty 
I  owed  to  others,  to  attend. 

Q.  Now,  Mr.  Aspinwall,  in  your  large  experience  both 
as  town  official  and  as  a  citizen  voting  at  town  meetings, 
please  state  whether  or  not  you  have  ever  heard  of  any  legis¬ 
lation  such  as  is  proposed  here  by  this  amendment ;  that  is, 
requiring  a  two-thirds  vote,  by  ballot,  for  the  acceptance  of 
an  x4ct  which  is  petitioned  for  unanimously  by  the  citizens  in 
a  town  meeting?  A.  I  never  heard  of  any  such  legislation, 
and  I  never  heard  of  any  such  proposition  for  legislation 
before. 

Q.  W ere  you  present  at  this  meeting  of  December  20th  ? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  When  the  vote  asking  for  this  Act  was  passed?  A.  I 
was  present ;  I  took  part  in  the  discussion,  and  made  a  few 
remarks. 

Q.  Whether  or  not  the  subject  was  pretty  thoroughly  dis¬ 
cussed  at  that  time?  A.  Very  thoroughly  indeed.  I  never 
heard  a  subject  more  thoroughly  discussed,  although  most 


42 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


of  the  discussion  was  entirely  outside  of  the  article  in  the 
warrant. 

Q.  What  was  the  object  of  the  meeting?  A.  The  object 
of  the  meeting  was  to  consider  this  very  proposition,  as  to 
whether  the  town  would  instruct  the  selectmen  to  petition 
the  Legislature  for  substantially  this  Act. 

Q.  And,  after  this  long  discussion,  what' did  the  meeting 
do  ;  I  mean,  with  regard  to  authorizing  this  to  be  done?  A. 
The  vote  was  passed,  as  has  been  read  to  the  committee, 
almost  unanimously  ;  in  fact,  I  may  say  substantially  unani¬ 
mously  ;  and  I  believe  it  has  been  so  stated  here  by  the 
opponents. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  anybody  vote  against  it  at  the  time  ? 
A.  No,  sir  ;  I  do  not  recollect  any  vote  against  it. 

Q.  What  knowledge  had  you  of  this  matter  prior  to  the 
meeting ;  how  had  it  been  brought  to  your  attention  ?  A. 
You  mean,  of  the  widening  of  Beacon  Street? 

Q.  Yes.  A.  The  widening  of  Beacon  Street  is  a  matter 
which  has  been  in  my  mind  for  a  number  of  3^ears,  and  in 
the  minds  of  a  good  many  other  persons.  Three  or  four 
years  ago,  perhaps  it  is,  I  got  up  a  petition,  addressed  to 
the  county  commissioners,  to  widen  Beacon  Street,  and 
there  was  a  hearing  upon  it.  The  opposition  we  had  at 
that  time  was  precisely  the  opposition  we  have  here.  The 
Stearns  family  opposed  it,  as  they  opposed  the  laying  out 
of  Beacon  Street  thirty  years  ago,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
going  to  damage  their  property,  when,  in  fact,  it  rendered 
it  ten  times  as  valuable  as  it  was  before.  They  got  damages 
at  that  time,  and  they  always  get  damages. 

Q.  Mr.  Stearns  is  the  gentleman  who  was  so  ably  mis¬ 
represented  here  by  his  attorney,  the  other  day?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  He  lives  on  the  line  of  the  street  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 
These  gentlemen,  I  believe,  certainly  those  whose  names  I 
have  seen  upon  the  petition  to  be  presented  by  Mr.  White, 
are  substantially  the  opponents  of  this  scheme  ;  and  I  may 
say,  further,  that  they  are  the  constant  opponents  of  any 
scheme  of  public  improvement  which  is  going  to  increase,  as 


TESTIMONY  OF  HON.  WILLIAM  ASPINWALL. 


43 


they  think,  their  taxes.  I  noticed  the  names  for  the  first 
time  this  morning ;  and  I  noticed  the  names  of  a  great  many 
persons  who  never  attend  a  town  meeting,  except  to  vote 
against  an  appropriation  of  money  for  the  public  good. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  some  of  the  gentlemen  who  were 
at  first  opposed  to  this  project  at  the  preliminary  meetings 
in  the  lower  town  hall,  afterwards  became  convinced  that  the 
project  was  a  good  one,  and  favored  it  in  the  upper  town 
hall  at  the  subsequent  meeting?  A.  Yes,  I  think  so.  I 
think  Mr.  Foster  was  opposed  to  it  at  first,  and  afterwards 
he  made  one  of  the  best  speeches  there  was  made  in  favor 
of  it,  as  one  of  the  best  business  men  of  Boston,  and 
respected  in  that  way  in  the  town  of  Brookline.  I  do  not 
remember  who  else  spoke  in  that  meeting,  but  there  was 
quite  a  number. 

Q.  I  do  not  care  to  go  quite  so  much  into  detail  as  that. 
My  purpose,  Mr.  Aspinwall,  and  I  will  say  so  for  the  benefit 
of  the  committee  also,  is  to  show  that  frequent  meetings 
were  held  and  that  the  selectmen  not  only  neglected  no 
usual  opportunity  and  precaution  to  bring  this  before  the 
town,  but  took  unusual  care  in  the  matter.  Following  out 
this  line  a  little  further,  Mr.  Aspinwall,  will  you  state 
whether  or  not  they  had  an^^  plans  and  estimates  and  specifi¬ 
cations  at  these  preliminary  hearings  ?  A.  Yes,  sir,  they 
did. 

Q.  For  the  enlightenment  of  the  citizens?  A.  At  all 
the  meetings  which  were  held  by  the  selectmen,  they  had 
the  plans  and  specifications,  and  had  the  engineers  present,  so 
that  any  questions  could  be  put  to  them,  and  there  was  a 
very  thorough  examination  of  the  matter.  I  would  say  I  do 
not  know  any  matter  that  has  ever  been  before  the  town  of 
Brookline,  with  the  exception  of  the  water  question,  that  has 
ever  been  so  thoroughly  ventilated  as  this  has  been.  The 
two  papers  in  Brookline  and  some  of  the  Boston  papers  have 
had  articles  upon  it  and  reports  of  the  hearings,  and  it  is  im¬ 
possible  that  anything  could  be  more  generally  discussed  than 
this  matter  has  been.  It  has  been  discussed  in  every  possi¬ 
ble  way,  on  the  cars,  on  the  streets,  and  wherever  the  people 
have  met. 


44 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Q.  (By  Mr.  Hyde.)  From  having  lived  in  the  town  all 
these  years,  and  probably  knowing  the  people  of  the  town  as 
well  as  any  man  there,  will  you  state  in  a  general  way,  your 
opinion  of  whether  this  is  a  desirable  thing  for  the  town  to 
do?  A.  I  have  no  question  about  that,  sir.  It  is  a  desir¬ 
able  thing  for  the  town,  taking  the  town  by  itself,  and  it  is  a 
desirable  thing  for  the  great  community  of  which  the  town 
forms  a  part.  Practically,  the  town  of  Brookline  is  part  of 
the  metropolis  of  the  State,  part  of  the  city  of  Boston.  It  is 
enclosed  by  the  city  of  Boston  almost  entirely,  with  the  ex¬ 
ception  of  a  small  boundaiy  on  the  city  of  Newton,  and 
within  25  years  it  will  be  almost  impossible,  if  such  an 
avenue  as  this  is  laid  out,  to  distincruish  where  Boston  beofins 
and  Brookline  ends.  We  who  live  in  Brookline  are  all  Bos¬ 
ton  people,  really.  We  sleep  in  Brookline,  but  all  our 
business  is  in  Boston,  and  the  interests  of  Brookline  and 
those  of  Boston  are  identical.  Everybody  knows  how  much 
the  interests  of  Boston  are  concerned  in  this  matter.  Indeed, 
it  seems  to  me  there  has  rarely  been  a  matter  before  the 
public,  the  outcome  of  which  may  be  made  so  beneficial  to 
the  metropolis  of  the  State,  and  even  to  the  State  itself. 
I  do  not  think  anybody  doubts  that  if  this  territory  had 
been  a  part  of  the  Back  Bay  territory,  in  the  same  condition 
that  that  was  in,  in  1857,  the  State  w-ould  not  have  termi¬ 
nated  Commonwealth  Avenue  where  it  did.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  within  five  years  after  this  road  is  laid  out,  it  will  be 
continued  b}^  the  cit}^  of  Newton  to  Newton  Centre,  and  per¬ 
haps  further  towards  Worcester.  It  may  even  be  carried  on 
to  Worcester,  with  the  hope  of  making  that  city  the  capital 
of  the  Commonwealth.  (Laughter.) 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  Have  you  any  personal  interest  in 
this  matter,  other  than  as  a  citizen?  A.  None  at  all.  If  I 
had  any  personal  interest,  as  I  stated,  I  think,  in  the  town 
meetinof  or  before  the  selectmen,  it  would  be  rather  adverse 
to  this  matter.  I  am  interested  in  real  estate  in  Brookline 
not  on  this  avenue.  That  real  estate  is  in  the  market  for 
sale,  and  I  think  that  my  friend  Whitney,  having  so  large  an 
amount  of  land  on  what  will  be  Commonwealth  Avenue  ex- 


I 


TESTIMONY  OF  HON.  AVILLIAM  ASPINWALL. 


45 


tended,  will  bring  property  into  competition  with  what  I 
have  already  for  sale,  and  I  think,  perhaps,  the  properly 
which  I  am  now  selling  will  not  sell  quite  so  quickly  as  it 
otherwise  would. 

Q.  Do  you  not  think  that,  while  it  benefits  him,  it  will 
also  benefit  your  property  in  the  end?  A.  I  have  no  doubt 
it  will  benefit  all  the  property  in  the  town  of  Brookline.  I 
have  no  doubt  it  will  act  favorably  on  all  the  property  in 
the  town.  But  I  was  speaking  of  special  benefit,  and,  per¬ 
haps,  of  special  injury. 

Q.  You  live  at  some  distance  from  the  street?  A.  I 
live  a  half  a  mile,  I  should  say,  from  Beacon  Street. 

Q.  You  have  had  large  experience  in  these  matters  ;  will 
you  please  give  the  committee  the  benefit  of  your  judgment 
as  to  the  practical  value  of  voting  by  ballot  ?  A.  I  do  not 
see  any  value  at  all,  so  far  as  the  community  is  concerned. 
I  consider  it  merely  an  opportunity  given  to  the  minority  to 
defeat  this  scheme.  That  is  undoubtedly  the  object  they 
have  in  view.  They  think  they  can  manage  to  get  one-third 
of  the  votes,  or  a  little  over  one-third,  perhaps,  in  opposi¬ 
tion  to  it,  and  in  that  way  can  defeat  the  wishes  of  the  other 
two-thirds  of  the  town.  I  do  not  believe  in  that  way  of 
conducting  business  in  a  town  or  anywhere  else,  unless  in 
special  cases.  It  may  be  necessary  sometime  to  put  a  con¬ 
trol  upon  the  borrowing  power  of  a  town,  and  I  think  the 
Legislature  has  been  wise  in  that  respect.  But  for  general 
purposes  I  think  the  majority  ought  to  rule,  and  especially  a 
majority  in  a  town  meeting.  I  do  not  believe  in  putting  it 
into  the  power  of  people  who  do  not  come  to  town  meet¬ 
ings  usually,  to  come  there  on  some  special  occasion,  with 
their  minds  made  up  and  their  ballots  in  their  pockets,  to  vote 
against  the  opinions  that  have  been  formed  by  other  citizens, 
upon  full  discussion  of  the  question  face  to  face. 

Q.  Is  it  not  possible  that  the  use  of  the  ballot  puts  a 
premium  upon  “  stay-at-homes,”  the  people  who  do  not  come 
to  town  meetings  ?  A.  Certainly ;  that  is  the  way  it  has 
always  operated. 


46 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Q.  Htive  you  not  in  your  experience  known  the  town 
to  resort  to  the  use  of  the  liallot,  its  own  act,  in 
town  meetings?  A.  I  remember  two  cases.  One  was 
on  the  extension  of  Harrison  Place.  Some  years  ago  they 
had  a  ballot  on  that  question,  and  my  belief  is  that  what  was 
the  public  good  was  at  that  time  defeated  by  the  votes  of 
people  who  came  to  the  meeting  without  knowing  anything 
about  the  question,  but  with  their  minds  made  up  to  vote  in 
a  certain  way.  Then,  again,  on  the  water  question,  in  1872, 
the  town  decided  to  take  a  vote  by  ballot.  Prior  to  that 
time  the  town  had  repeatedly  expressed  itself  in  town  meet¬ 
ing  in  favor  of  introducing  water.  It  had  applied  to  the  Leg¬ 
islature,  and  had  obtained  an  Act  for  introducing  the  Charles 
River  water.  But,  by  a  great  effort  on  the  part  of  the  op¬ 
ponents  to  the  introduction  of  water,  they  defeated,  by  a 
small  majority,  the  friends  of  the  measure.  In  less  than  six 
months  afterwards,  the  town  voted  to  introduce  water,  how¬ 
ever,  and  within  a  year  after  that,  water  was  introduced ; 
and  we  have  the  best  water  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  I  think.  The  ballot  operated  to  delay  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  water,  which  was  an  absolute  necessity  to  the 
poorer  classes  of  our  people. 

Q.  Voting  by  ballot  in  those  two  cases  you  have  stated 
worked  very  unfavorably  ?  A.  It  undoubtedly  defeated  the 
popular  will. 

Q.  Whether  or  not,  in  your  judgment,  it  is  wiser  to  leave 
the  question  of  the  ballot  to  the  meeting  of  the  citizens,  who 
ask  for  this  Act,  than  it  is  to  try  to  forestall  that  action  by 
the  adoption  of  this  amendment,  or  of  any  of  these  amend¬ 
ments?  A.  I  think  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  leave  it  with  the 
town.  In  one  of  the  cases  I  have  spoken  of,  — that  relating 
to  Harrison  Place,  — the  town  did  not  vote  to  take  the  vote 
by  ballot;  ])ut  the  selectmen,  in  their  warrant,  called  the 
citizens  to  deposit  their  ballots  on  that  question.  The  select¬ 
men  could  do  it  in  this  case,  if  the}^  saw  fit,  and  the  town 
could  vote  by  ballot. 

Q.  Then,  I  will  modify  my  question.  Is  it  not  perfectly 
safe,  in  your  opinion,  to  leave  the  interests  of  these  remon- 


TESTIMONY  OF  HON.  WILLIAM  ASPINWALL. 


47 


strants  in  the  hands  of  the  selectmen,  as  has  been  done  be¬ 
fore?  A.  It  seems  to  me  perfectly  safe,  sir. 

Q.  What,  in  your  judgment,  would  be  the  attitude  of  the 
Legislature  towards  the  citizens  of  Brookline,  who  petition 
unanimously  for  this  Act,  if  it  should  pass  an  Act  requiring 
them  to  give  a  two-thirds  vote,  by  ballot,  in  its  favor,  before 
they  can  avail  themselves  of  it?  A.  It  seems  to  me  it  would 
be  treating  the  town  of  Brookline  very  differently  from  the 
way  they  treat  any  other  town  or  city  in  the  Commonwealth  ; 
that  it  would,  substantially,  be  saying  that  the  town  of 
Brookline  was  not  competent  to  take  care  of  its  affairs, 
and  that  it  had  a  large  body  of  irresponsible  individuals 
who  were  ready  to  vote  away  money  for  any  purpose,  — 
especially  for  something  that  was  likely  to  be  of  some  per¬ 
sonal  benefit  to  themselves. 

Q.  Whether  or  not,  Mr.  Aspinwall,  it  might  not  follow, 
as  a  further  inference,  that  the  Legislature  paid  heed  onl}' 
to  the  few  remonstrants  who  came  up  here,  and  ignored  the 
deliberate  action  and  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  citizens  in 
town  meeting  assembled?  A.  I  should  so  look  upon  it; 
and  I  think  the  people  of  Brookline  would  so  look  upon  it. 

Q.  (By  the  Chairman.)  I  believe  you  said  you  usually 
attend  the  town  meetings  ?  A.  Yes. 

Q.  It  has  been  testified  here  that  there  were  600  voters 
at  this  meeting  on  Dec.  20th ;  how  does  that  compare  with 
your  average  town  meeting?  A.  It  was  much  larger  than 
usual.  We  very  seldom  have  a  meeting,  I  should  say,  where 
the  attendance  is  over  half  that  number.  Even  our  annual 
meetings  are  scarcely  ever  as  large  as  this  meeting  was. 

Q.  As  an  old  resident  of  Brookline,  and  one  who  usually 
attends  the  town  meetings,  do  you,  in  your  judgment,  think 
there  was  a  suflScient  notice  <?iven  of  this  meetino^  of  Deceni- 
ber  20th,  so  that  the  town’s  people  could  have  come  if  the}’ 
had  seen  fit  to?  A.  There  is  no  doubt  about  that.  The 
meeting  had  been  talked  about  a  long  time,  or  quite  a  con¬ 
siderable  time,  before  the  warrant  was  issued,  and  according 
to  our  by-law,  the  warrant  must  be  fully  served  at  least  four 
days  before  the  meeting  is  held.  It  was  actually  served,  I 
should  say,  nearer  seven  days  before. 


48 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Q.  It  has  been  intimated  here,  or  it  has  been  testified  to 
here,  that  there  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred 
citizens  of  Brookline  who  only  pay  a  poll-tax.  I  would  like 
to  ask,  for  my  own  benefit  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  committee, 
whether  the  larger  proportion  of  that  six  hundred  at  the 
meeting  were  poll-tax  payers  or  property-tax  payers?  A. 
Allow  me  in  the  first  place,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  correct  the 
statement  that  has  been  made,  that  there  are  two  hundred 
and  fifty  or  three  hundred  poll-tax  payers  only  in  the  town 
of  Brookline.  The  majority  of  the  tax  payers  in  Brookline 
are  poll-tax  payers.  But  who  are  they?  They  are  not  sim¬ 
ply  the  laboring  people.  They  are  the  sons  of  men  Avho 
ov/n  property,  and  they  are  clerks  who,  perhaps,  have  no 
personal  property  in  the  town  of  Brookline,  and  hire  houses, 
for  which  they  pay  rent,  but  do  not  pay  taxes,  except  in  the 
way  of  rent.  These  are  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  who  are  down  on  our  list  as  poll-tax  payers,  simply. 
Many  of  them  are  men  who  pay  taxes  in  the  city  of  Boston 
on  their  business,  and  they  are  the  sons  of  men  of  property, 
although  not  owning  property  themselves.  Then  there  are 
the  people  Avho  own  nothing  at  all,  who  pay  no  tax  in  any 
way,  the  laboring  population,  the  journeyman  mechanics, 
and  so  on,  but  they  are  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  whole 
number  of  merely  poll-tax  payers. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  How  did  that  meeting  compare  with 
the  average  town  meetings,  in  respect  to  intelligence  and 
financial  responsibility,  if  I  may  use  those  expressions  with¬ 
out  offence?  A.  I  should,  say  the  representation  of  those 
who  pay  a  tax  on  property,  and  their  representatives  in  the 
sons  of  such  gentlemen,  was  much  larger  than  usual.  There 
was,  of  course,  a  large  number  of  the  poorer  class  of  people 
present.  But  I  want  to  say  this  for  the  poorer  class  of  i)eo- 
ple  in  Brookline  :  I  believe  they  are  just  as  safe  to  trust  with 
such  questions  as  this  as  the  rich  men,  and  more.  I  think 
they  are  more  public  spirited,  as  a  rule,  than  the  rich  men, 
who,  as  a  general  rule,  look  more  closely  to  their  tax  bills 
than  any  other  class  in  the  community  does.  The  middle 
class  in  Brookline,  and  the  laboring  class  in  Brookline,  the 


TESTIMONY  OF  IION.  WILLIAM  ASPINWALL. 


49 


mechanics  and  the  laboring  men,  are  quite  as  safe  to  l)e 
trusted  with  the  interests  of  the  town  as  the  rich  men  are, 
and  for  this  reason  especially,  that  they  do  attend  the  town 
meetings,  while  the  rich  men  do  not,  but  make  up  their 
minds  outside. 

Q.  (By  the  Committee.)  Do  you  think  there  is  ain^ 
proportion  of  the  citizens  of  Brookline  who  would  attend 
the  town  meetings  and  vote  for  that  measure  in  consideration 
of  the  work  they  would  get  out  of  it?  A.  No,  sir,  I  do 
not  think  so.  There  may  be  a  few  men  who  would,  but 
after  all,  what  is  that?  They  have  a  selfish  motive,  just  as 
other  men  will  vote  on  the  other  side  for  a  selfish  motive. 
One  man  will  vote  against  a  measure  because  it  is  going  to 
make  him  pay  fifty  cents  more  tax,  and  the  other  man  will 
vote  in  favor  of  it  because  it  is  going  to  put  fifty  cents  into 
his  pocket.  It  is  selfishness  on  either  side. 

Q.  My  question  is,  whether  there  is  any  considerable 
proportion  of  such  men  who  are  merely  poll-tax  payers*? 
A.  No,  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  considerable  number  of 
people  who  are  actuated  by  any  such  motives. 

Q.  I  believe  a  gentleman  who  testified  yesterday,  Mr. 
Rice,  gave  an  estimate  that  there  were  250  of  that  class. 
What  do  you  say  to  that?  A.  I  have  lived  in  the  town  of 
Brookline  fifty  years,  and  Mr.  Rice  has  not  lived  there  filty 
months.  Perhaps  he  knows  better  about  the  people  of  Brook¬ 
line  than  I  do,  but  I  should  trust  my  own  opinion  sooner 
than  I  would  his. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  Now  we  are  on  that  line  of  inquiry, 
I  want  to  ask  you  a  question  or  two  concerning  Mr.  Rice’s 
statements  here.  You  saw  him  at  the  town  meetiim',  and 
sat  near  him?  A.  Yes,  sir,  not  very  far  from  him. 

Q.  4Yhether,  in  your  judgment,  he  had  any  following 
whatever  in  his  line  of  tactics  ?  I  believe  he  did  not  formu¬ 
late  any  motion  ;  but  whether  there  was  anybody  who  seemed 
to  sympathize  with  him  or  follow  him  in  what  he  said  ?  Did 
he  have  any  influence?  xl.  None  at  all,  sir.  I  think  his 
proposition  fell  as  cold  upon  the  meeting  as  anything  I  ever 
heard.  Town  meetings  have  a  way  of  expressing  their  feel¬ 
ing  without  an  actual  vote,  and  I  never  saw  any  proposition 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


:>() 


treated  with  more  silent  contempt  than  that  was.  Every¬ 
body  supposed,  —  of  course  Mr.  Eice  set  that  at  rest  the 
other  day,  —  that  he  represented  the  Metropolitan  Eailroad 
Company  there,  and  that  he  was  making  a  proposition  for 
their  benefit.  That  is  what  everybody  said  at  the  time,  and 
what  everybody  has  said  since,  until  he  contradicted  it. 

Q.  Whether  your  judgment  differs  from  his  as  to  the 
amount  of  weight  his  proposition  carried?  A.  Entirely,  sir. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Hyde.)  The  question  the  chairman  asked 
you  has  not  been  directly  answered  yet,  I  think,  whether 
there  was  a  larger  proportion  of  men  at  the  meeting,  who 
only  pay  a  poll-tax,  than  is  usually  at  the  town  meetings  ; 
what  do  you  say  as  to  that? 

The  Chairman.  I  mean  simply,  poll-tax  payers,  who 
pay  nothing  else  and  represent  nothing  else.  A.  I  should 
say  there  was  a  larger  proportion  of  property  represented 
there  than  usual.  Of  course  there  was,  if  that  is  so,  a  less 
proportion  of  people  who  merely  pay  a  poll-tax. 

Q.  (By  the  Committee.)  Is  there  an  element  of  your 
citizenship  who  generally,  outside  of  this  particular  project, 
attend  vour  meetino^s  and  vote  for  measures  in  consideration 
of  the  work  they  can  get  out  of  them?  A.  No,  sir;  I  do 
not  think  there  is  any  considerable  number  of  our  people 
who  take  such  a  view  of  questions.  I  think  our  laboring 
population,  I  speak  now  of  mechanics  and  day-laborers,  are 
quite  as  well  informed  upon  public  afiairs  as  any  class  in  the 
community.  They  discuss  them  more,  and  I  think  they 
perform  their  duties  as  citizens  better,  because  they  do 
attend  the  town  meetings.  Some  vote  one  way  and  some 
another,  and  I  do  not  believe  they  vote  simply  from  the  idea 
that  they  are  going  to  make  a  dollar  or  two,  or  ten  dollars, 
or  something  of  that  kind  out  of  a  job. 

Q.  The  reason  I  ask  the  question  is,  that  somebody 
stated  yesterday  there  was  a  large  influx  of  laboring  men, 
owing  to  the  public  works  of  the  town,  and  that  they  were 
always  ready  to  vote  in  consideration  of  the  work  they  got ; 
and  when  he  was  asked  how  manv  such  men  there  were,  he 
stated  there  were  about  two  hundred  and  fiftv.  IVhat  do 
you  say  as  to  that? 


TESTIMONY  OF  HON.  AVILLIAM  ASPINM'ALL. 


51' 


The  Chairman.  That  was  the  statement  of  Mr.  Rice. 

A.  I  am  not  familiar  with  the  details  of  town  affairs  now  ; 
that  is,  as  to  the  number  of  laborers  employed ;  but  I  should 
be  astonished  beyond  measure  if  it  was  proved  to  me  that 
there  was  anything  like  that  number  of  men  employed  upon 
the  public  works  in  Brookline.  (Mr.  elames,  one  of  the 
selectmen,  “  Not  half!”)  I  do  not  think  it  is  possible.  I 
do  not  see  why  the  magnitude  of  the  expenditure  involved 
in  this  case  is  any  reason  for  adopting  a  different  mode  of 
procedure  than  is  common  in  the  conduct  of  the  town 
affairs.  I  think,  if  the  town  is  capable  of  conducting  any 
of  its  affairs  by  a  majority,  it  is  fit  to  conduct  all  its  affairs 
by  a  majority,  except  where  the  State  has  made  a  general 
law,  as  it  has  in  regard  to  municipal  indebtedness,  which  I 
think  is  a  wise  provision.  But  that  applies  generally.  It  is 
not  made  to  apply  to  a  particular  town.  I  think  that  special 
legislation  against  the  Democratic-Republican  doctrine  that  a 
majority  shall  rule  in  town  affairs,  is  decidedly  inexpedient. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Fay.)  One  question  I  omitted,  which  I  will 
ask,  with  the  permission  of  the  committee.  Is  this  a  town¬ 
way,  or  a  parkway?  A.  It  is  a  town  way. 

Q.  It  is  a  road,  is  it  not?  A.  It  is  a  road. 

Q.  And,  therefore,  it  ought  to  be  treated  like  one  in  lay¬ 
ing  it  out?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  would  like  to  ask  whether  you  consider  that  the 
town  of  Brookline  will  be  benefited  as  a  town, — not  the 
individuals  who  own  property  where  this  road  will  be,  if 
this  plan  is  carried  out,  —  but  whether  the  town  in  general 
will  be  benefited  in  proportion  to  the  expenditure  that  will 
be  called  for?  A.  Yes;  I  have  no  doubt  it  will.  And,  as 
Mr.  Foster,  who  is  one  of  the  best  business  men  in  the  city 
of  Boston,  said,  and  I  agree  with  him,  if  it  cost  twice  as 
much,  I  believe  the  town  of  Brookline  would  get  it  all  back 
in  money  before  many  years.  The  taxable  property  would 
be  so  much  increased  that  the  cost  to  the  town,  eventually, 
would  be  nothing. 

The  Chairman.  I  will  ask  if  the  rest  of  your  evidence  is 
not  merely  cumulative,  to  the  effect  that  the  witnesses  are 
old  residents  of  Brookline  and  are  in  favor  of  the  project? 


52 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


Mr.  Fay.  There  are  several  more  citizens  of  Brookline 
here  who  are  prepared  to  testify  to  the  same  general  facts 
that  have  already  been  testified  to,  but  if  the  committee  are 
satisfied  with  what  they  have  heard,  we  will  not  put  on  any 
more  witnesses. 

The  Chairman.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  chair  that  inas¬ 
much  as  the  witnesses  you  would  call  would  testify  substan¬ 
tially  as  has  been  testified,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  hear 
them,  and  the  chair  would  ask  you  merely  to  hand  in  their 

N  * 

names. 

Messrs.  Jerome  Jones,  Wm.  J.  Griggs  and  Jacob  W. 
Pierce,  large  owners  of  real  estate  in  Brookline,  not  abutting 
on  Beacon  Street,  were  also  present  and  favored  the  Act^ 
as  submitted,  without  any  amendments. 


REMARKS  OF  HENRY  D.  HYDE,  ESQ. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen: 

I  will  only  say  a  few  words,  in  a  narrative  form,  to  show 
how  this  matter  has  come  up.  Beacon  Street,  at  its  present 
width,  has  been  found  to  be  insufiScient  for  the  public  neces¬ 
sities,  and  for  many  years  a  discussion  has  been  going  on  as 
to  its  being  widened.  Those  of  us  who  live  in  this  com¬ 
munity  and  are  familiar  with  the  location  know  that  although 
this  is  the  direct  avenue  leading  out  to  the  West,  there  never 
have  been  any  substantial  improvements  in  real  estate  in  that 
direction.  There  have  never  been  any  means  of  transporta¬ 
tion,  and  within  the  past  twenty-five  years  hardly  a  half  a 
dozen  houses  have  been  erected  upon  the  line  of  the  avenue 
in  the  town  of  Brookline.  While  other  parts  of  the  town 

have  been  accommodated  bv  the  steam  railroad  and  the  horse 

%/ 

cars,  and  have  grown  rapidly,  this  part  of  the  town  has 
merely  held  its  own  for  many  years.  I  have  lived  in  Boston* 
about  twenty-five  years,  and  I  do  not  remember  of  more  than 
two  or  three  houses  that  I  have  seen  in  the  course  of  con¬ 
struction  on  that  street  in  the  town  of  Brookline  during  that 


REMARKS  OF  HENRY  D.  HYDE,  ESQ.  53 

time,  and  I  am  informed  that  there  have  been  hut  very  few 
more. 

Now,  about  a  year  ago,  Mr.  Whitney,  who  has  always  been 
a  resident  in  the  town  since  he  has  lived  in  this  part  of  the 
State,  became  a  irood  deal  interested  in  this  matter,  which 
had  been  for  some  time  talked  of  among  many  public-spirited 
citizens  of  the  town.  It  was  very  evident  that  nothing  could 
be  done  if  each  man,  having  his  own  little  lot  of  land,  was 
put  in  the  position  of  trying  to  get  just  as  much  as  he  could 
out  of  it.  There  must  be  the  brins^in^  together  of  a  large 

o  o  o  o 

amount  of  land,  or  else  the  price  would  be  run  up  so  high 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  secure  the  land  and  to  carry 
out  the  enterprise. 

Now,  those  of  you  who  are  familiar  with  the  location 
there  will  remember  that  Commonwealth  Avenue  has  been 
extended  until  it  joins  Beacon  Street,  and  that  it  is  being  so 
rapidly  built  upon  that  there  are  only  scattering  lots  left, 
and  very  soon  those  will  all  be  occupied.  What  next  shall 
be  done?  Shall  that  beautiful  avenue  200  feet  wide,  with  its 
shade  trees  and  beautiful  drive-ways,  a  joy  and  a  delight  to 
all  who  come  to  Boston,  and  the  pride  of  the  State,  stop 
when  it  comes  to  Beacon  Street,  or  shall  it  be  carried  further 
West  by  the  further  carrying  out  of  the  policy  which  has 

4 

been  so  profitable  to  the  State  and  to  the  city  of  Boston  ? 
Mr.  Whitney  made  up  his  mind  that  if  the  lands  could  be 
brought  together,  there  was  an  opportunity  for  the  extension 
of  this  avenue.  Without  saying  anything  to  anybody,  using 
his  own  mone}^,  he  went  to  work  and  bought  up  very  large 
tracts  of  land  bordering  upon  the  present  Beacon  Street,  and 
he  then  invited  gentlemen  to  join  him  in  making  a  certain 
proposition  to  the  town. 

d'here  were  at  that  time  five  selectmen,  and  Mr.  lYhitney 
made  a  suggestion  to  them  that  if  such  a  thing  as  this  were 
done  it  would  be  done  for  all  time,  and  tlie  town  would  have 
a  magnificent  avenue,  and  that  it  could  have  it  at  a  merely 
nominal  expense  compared  with  what  it  would  cost  at  any 
other  time.  The  selectmen  of  the  town  took  the  matter  u]) 
and  said  they  would  look  into  it.  And  they  took  a  good 
deal  of  time  in  looking  into  it, — what  it  would  be,  what  the 


54 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


grades  would  be,  and  what  were  the  possibilities.  And 
finally  they  said  they  would  take  the  sense  of  the  town  in¬ 
formally  upon  it.  They  said:  We  will  not  hold  a  town 
meeting  in  the  sense  of  voting  legally  upon  it,  but  we  will 
informally  take  the  sense  of  the  town.”  Therefore  they  gave 
notice  on  a  certain  day  in  mid-summer,  last  Summer,  to  all 
the  people  of  Brookline,  that  they  would  like  to  have  them 
come  and  express  themselves,  and  con,  in  regard  to  the 
matter, — whether  it  was  a  desirable  thing  for  the  town  to 
enter  upon,  or  even  to  further  consider.  It  was  not  a  meet¬ 
ing  at  which  there  was  to  be  any  voting,  but  every  man  was 
to  have  an  opportunity  to  express  his  opinions. 

Now,  at  that  meeting  there  came  in  a  petition  signed  by 
several  hundred  of  fhe  leading  people  of  the  town.  When  I 
say  leading  people,  I  do  not  speak  of  them  in  any  sense 
except  as  leading  tax-payers,  but  on  that  petition  was  placed 
a  great  majority  of  the  taxable  property  of  Brookline. 
Many  of  the  citizens  were  away  at  the  time,  but  still  there 
was  a  large  meeting.  I  was  present,  and  the  selectmen  said 
to  the  citizens,  “If  you  have  anything  to  say,  or  con,  we 
would  like  to  have  you  express  your  sentiments.”  There 
was  quite  a  discussion.  This  man  said  his  house  would  be 
taken,  and  another  said  his  land  would-be  taken.  “Well,” 
the  selectmen  said,  “we  are  not  going  to  move  in  any  haste  ; 
we  are  not  going  to  disturb  anybody  ;  we  only  want  to  get 
your  opinion  and  then  we  shall  decide  what  to  do  about  fol¬ 
lowing  the  matter  up.”  The  result  was  that  so  far  as  there 
was  any  expression  that  day,  it  was  very  largely  in  favor 
of  the  measure.  The  selectmen  felt  they  were  authorized 
to  look  into  the  matter  further,  in  view  of  what  was  said 
and  of  this  petition  from  so  large  a  number  of  the  tax-payers, 
representing  more  than  a  majority  of  the  tax-paying  prop¬ 
erty  in  the  town. 

And  they  proceeded  to  look  into  it,  and  engineers  ran  the 
lines  to  find  what  the  fills  would  be  and  what  the  cuts  would 
be.  At  first  this  was  talked  of  as  an  avenue  200  feet  wide. 
The  selectmen,  meanwhile,  were  constantty  making  inquiries, 
and  constantly  feeling  their  way  to  see  whether  this  was  or 
was  not  a  desirable  project.  As  they  began  to  talk  with  the 


REMARKS  OF  HENRY  D.  HYDE,  ESQ. 


55 


people  who  lived  on  the  line  of  the  road,  and  more  or  less 
of  whose  estates  would  be  taken,  some  of  them  came  for¬ 
ward  and  said,  ‘‘  If  you  make  it  as  wide  as  you  propose,  it 
will  ruin  my  lot.  I  have  got  a  lot  so  shaped  that  I  might, 
perhaps,  be  willing  to  give  my  land  for  this  if  you  do  not 
take  quite  so  much,  for  I  believe  in  it,  but  if  I  have  got  to 
give  as  much  as  will  be  required  under  this  plan,  what  I  have 
left  will  not  be  worth  anything.  Now,  you  make  it  a  little 
less  wide  and  we  will  favor  it.”  The.  selectmen,  after  con¬ 
sulting  with  these  men  and  taking  their  views,  adopted  the 
plan  of  160  feet  instead  of  200  feet,  and  that  was  found  to 
enable  many  estates  to  remain  of  such  size  as  the  owners 
desired,  and  still  to  give  this  beautiful  avenue.  The  result 
was  that  finally  the  plans  and  the  drawings  and  the  estimates 
were  made  upon  an  avenue  160  feet  wide. 

Now,  everybody  knew  this  was  going  on.  It  took  some 
fifteen  field  men  to  do  it,  and  anyone  driving  out  there 
in  the  pleasant  weather  of  the  Autumn  would  see  these  men 
out  surveying  and  running  the  lines,  and  seeing  how  to  take 
upon  this  side  and  upon  that,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  com¬ 
mon  talk  in  the  town.  Because,  it  was  going  to  give  Brook¬ 
line  this  grand  avenue,  and  people  naturally  were  interested 
•  in  it.  So  it  was  not  a  matter  that  was  hid,  but  was  a  matter 
under  full  discussion.  Any  gentleman  of  us  who  lives  in 
Boston,  and  who  met  Brookline  people  during  the  Autumn, 
found  they  were  full  of  this  subject,  and  were  thinking  it 
over  and  considering  it. 

All  the  while  the  selectmen  were  very  cautious  about  ex¬ 
pressing  themselves  ;  they  did  not  say  whether  they  would 
or  would  not  favor  it,  when  the  time  came  to  decide  upon  it. 
They  simply  said  the  feeling  of  the  town  was  such  that  they 
believed  it  was  their  duty  to  look  into  the  matter,  and  get 
the  figures,  and  lay  them  before  the  town.  Well,  the  re¬ 
turns  were  made  by  the  field  men,  and,  after  they  were 
brought  together,  knowing  how  often  estimates  do  over-run, 
I  personally  went  down,  and  saw  the  engineers,  and  made  a 
verification  of  their  figures  in  a  variety  of  ways.  For  exam¬ 
ple,  I  said,  “Are  you  sure  as  to  the  amount  of  earth  you 


50 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


will  have  to  remove?”  “Yes,  we  know  our  estimates  are 
snle  ;  we  will  guarantee  our  figures  are  right.”  “  How  as 
to  the  eost ;  how  have  you  figured  that,  and  what  steps  have 
you  taken  with  contractors  to  verify  your  figures?”  “  Yes ; 
we  have  gone  over  everything.”  And  it  is  a  thing  which  is 
easily  verified.  There  is  no  rock  cutting,  practically,  on  the 
whole  line  ;  it  is  nothing  but  earth,  and  we  know  very  well 
Avhat  the  cost  is  of  movins^  earth  in  road  construction  and  in 
railroad  construction.  It  is  so  much  a  cubic  foot  or  cubic 
yard,  and  there  is  not  much  difficulty,  when  you  know  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  in  telling  what  it  will  cost  to  move  it. 
And  the  nature  of  the  soil  is  well  known  there  ;  there  is, 
practically,  no  rock  cutting,  but  it  is  so  much  filling  and  so 
much  levelling.  The  engineers,  therefore,  allowed  a  large 
percentage  for  margin,  and  then  handed  in  their  figures.  I 
have  had  some  experience  with  such  figures,  and  I  believe 
the  town  of  Brookline  can  rely  on  them.  I  do  not  believe 
there  is  any  sensible  man  in  the  town,  certainly  no  selectman 
or  any  man  who  has  gone  over  the  matter  at  all,  who  can 
examine  the  figures  that  Messrs.  Lincoln  and  Aspinwall  have 
made,  without  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  safe  to  act 
on  them. 

The  [)rincipal  question  is  that  of  land  damages.  When  a 
thing  of  this  sort  is  started  it  is  soon  in  the  air ;  everybody 
sees  it  is  desirable,  and  a  man  who  owns  a  piece  of  land 
immediately  puts  a  fancy  price  upon  it,  and  before  the  time 
for  laying  out  the  road  has  come,  the  land  has  advanced  so 
that  the  damages  claimed  are  enormous.  And  we  must  bear 
in  mind  that  we  are  not  dealing  here  with  a  locality  in  which 
land  is  i>:iven  awav,  but  where  all  the  land  even  now  has  a 
large  value.  The  serious  question  with  the  selectmen,  there¬ 
fore,  was.  What  shall  be  done  about  the  land  damages?  They 
said,  “We  are  not  going  to  lay  this  road  out  and  let  every¬ 
body  come  in  for  damages  afterwards.  We  are  going  to  find 
out  what  it  is  ffoin^  to  cost  for  damaofes,  as  far  as  we  can, 
before  we  take  any  further  steps.”  So  they  came  to  the 
AVest  End  Land  Company,  which  owned  nearly  half  the 
frontage,  and  said,  “Will  you  give  your  land  for  this  pur- 


i;  EM  AUKS  OF  HENRY  D.  HYDE,  ESQ. 


57 


pose?”  Mr.  'Whitney  said  they  would.  “Well,”  the  se¬ 
lectmen  replied,  “while  we  are  willing  to  take  your  word, 
and  that  would  be  sufficient  for  us,  yet  we  want  it  fixed  so 
that  if  you  should  die  no  possible  question  could  arise,  and 
Ave  shall  insist  that  you  convey  or  release  in  Avriting  to  the 
town  all  land  damages,  and  all  slopes  and  everything  of  the 
kind,  and  that  the  town  be  allowed  a  proper  time  in  Avhich 
to  do  the  work.”  The  result  is  that  deeds  Avere  given  to  the 
town  for  about  one-half  of  all  the  land  required  on  the  entire 
length  of  the  road  on  both  sides.  The  agreements  expire 
next  July.  If  the  toAvn  lays  out  the  way  before  next  Jul}" 
all  this  land  Avill  be  given  free  ;  and,  of  course,  if  the  toAA  n 
does  not  lay  it  out,  the  land  goes  back  to  the  owners. 

And  you  Avill  remember  Avhat  Mr.  Cutting  said  in  this 
connection.  I  do  not  knoAA"  hoAV  many  of  the  committee 
know  Mr.  Cotting,  but  he  is  one  of  the  largest  representa¬ 
tives  of  trust  propert}"  in  the  city  of  Boston.  He  represents 
the  large  David  Sears  estate,  the  HemmenAvays,  the  Fifty 
Associates,  the  Amos  Lawrence  estate,  and  an  immense 
amount  of  property.  He  and  parties  he  represents  have  a 
large  interest  in  land  upon  this  avenue.  Their  land  is  the 
highest  price  land  upon  it,  and  unless  they  would  give  re¬ 
leases  to  the  town  the  selectmen  said  they  Avould  not  feel 
authorized  to  recommend  the  toAvn  to  proceed.  Their  land 
commences  at  St.  Mary’s  Street,  near  the  Boston  line,  and 
runs  out  half  a  mile,  and  is  already  valuable,  Avorth,  say,  a 
dollar  a  foot.  Will  these  people  give  their  land?  Avas  the 
next  question.  And  Mr.  Cotting  Avent  to  Avork  Avith  Mr. 
Meredith,  a  Avell  knoAvn  real  estate  agent,  and  they  obtained 
the  giving  of  that  land  by  the  different  families  interested, 
and  deeds  have  been  filed  Avith  the  toAvn  for  acceptance  before 
the  first  of  July. 

And  then  there  Avere  Jordan  &  Marsh,  Avho  OAAmed  a  large 
tract  of  land  on  the  line  of  the  road.  Mr.  Marsh  Avas  dead  ; 
but  Mr.  Jordan  said  he  Avould,  and  Mr.  Hutchins,  of 
Hutchins  &  Mffieeler,  representing  them,  said  they  Avould 
give  their  deeds  to  the  toAvn.  So  noAv  I  think  four-fifths  of 
the  land  has  been  oriven  to  the  toAvn,  and  the  remainino-  one- 


58 


liEACON  STREET  IMPROVEME^’T. 


fifth  is  owned  by  people  who  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
answer.  One  gentleman  sent  me  word  night  before  last, 
representing  a  large  number  of.  heirs  out  of  the  city,  that  in 
a  day  or  two  he  expected  to  have  the  paper  signed  releasing 
their  land  to  the  town.  He  is  one  of  the  leading;  business 
men  in  Boston,  and  his  wife  is  one  of  the  heirs.  Every  man 
has  been  asked  to  say  whether  he  would  give  his  land  or 
not,  and  if  he  would  not  give  it,  what  would  he  take  for  it. 
It  is  now  narrowed  down  to  a  very  few  people  who  have 
declined  to  give  their  land  or  take  a  reasonable  sum  for  it. 
If  a  man  has  a  house  and  lot,  and  if  he  gave  his  land  would 
have  nothing  left,  nobody  expects  him  to  give  it.  All  we 
ask  of  him  is  to  settle  at  a  fair  price. 

The  selectmen  have  been  so  careful  and  diligjent,  they 
have  been  at  work  upon  it  all  the  Fall  and  early  Winter,  that 
they  have  now  got  this  down  to  a  point  where  there  is  not  a 
possible  chance  that  the  town  will  have  to  pay  heavy  land 
damages.  I  don’t  care  how  many  juries  there  are,  I  do  not 
believe  that  by  taking  what  land  remains  to  be  taken  the 
town  can  get  any  large  amount  on  its  hands.  In  all  my  ex¬ 
perience  with  such  matters  I  have  never  seen  a  body  of  men 
Avho  have  been  so  diligent  and  cautious  as  this  Board  of 
Selectmen  has  been.  If  we  asked  an5^  questions  as  to  what 
they  proposed  ultimately  to  do,  they  would  never  tell  us, 
but  they  would  simply  say,  “We  want  to  know  that  the 
town  will  be  protected  before  we  will  express  any  opinion 
about  it.”  Finally,  when  the  lands,  so  far  as  they  could 
then  be  obtained,  had  been  obtained,  they  had  a  meeting, 
and  they  had  a  full  board  in  attendance.  There  were  at  first 
five  selectmen,  but  one  resigned  afterwards,  and  that  left 
four,  and  the  four  brought  the  matter  before  the  town. 

But  now  I  must  go  back  a  little,  and  consider  another 
matter  for  a  moment.  The  first  thought  in  connection  with 
this  improvement  was  that  some  provision  must  be  made  for 
transportation.  Three  years  ago  the  people  of  Brighton 
and  the  people  of  Brookline  united  in  a  petition  to  the 
Metropolitan  Railroad  Company  for  railroad  facilities  giving 
direct  communication  with  Boston,  but  they  did  not  obtain 


J{E3IAliKS  or  IIEXKY  D.  HYDE,  ESQ. 


59 


them.  The  selectmen  of  Brookline,  therefore,  when  this 
matter  came  up,  said  that  if  this  avenue  was  to  be  built  and 
so  many  people  were  coming  out  there,  some  means  must  be 
provided  for  their  transportation.  Two  hearing  were  given 
by  the  selectmen  upon  the  subject,  and  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  heariims  the  selectmen  <?ave  to  the  West  End  Railroad 
Company  a  location  along  Beacon  Street  in  the  town  of 
Brookline,  but  upon  this  condition:  They  said,  “We  are 
not  going  to  give  you  a  location  to  go  trading  around  on, 
but  you  must  sign  an  obligation  that  you  will  actually  build 
the  road  within  twelve  months,”  and  the  company  did.  The 
selectmen  tied  the  railway  company  by  a  personal  contract, 
as  no  other  railroad  corporation  ever  was  tied,  saying : 
“We  are  not  going  to  give  you  something  that  is  not  going 
to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  town,  and  unless  you  sign 
an  obligation  to  build  this  road,  you  shall  not  have  a  loca¬ 
tion.”  And  the  obligation  was  signed  that  the  parties  would 
build  the  road. 

After  having  done  all  this,  having  spent  so  much  time  in 
investigation,  and  having  taken  six  months  to  confer  with 
the  people  of  the  town,  the  selectmen  thought  they  were 

m 

ready  to  go  forward  and  lay  out  the. road,  after  which  the 
matter  would  come  before  the  town  meeting  for  approval. 
And  then  the  question  came  up, — this  being  a  county  way, 
and  as  the  plan  proposed  widening  it  in  some  places  on  one 
side  and  in  some  on  the  other,  and  thus  in  a  sense  shifting 
the  location, — how  far  the  town  had  control  over  it,  whether 
they  had  all  the  authority  that  was  necessary  to  do  that  and 
assess  betterments.  That  raised  a  novel  question.  Since 
the  county  laid  the  road  out  the  town  has  always  dealt  with 
it  as  a  townway,  making  all  the  repairs  and  doing  all  that 
has  been  done  to  it,  and  the  county  never  has  had  anything* 
to  do  with  it  since  it  turned  it  over.  Eminent  legal  authori¬ 
ties  held  that  the  town  had  full  authority,  but,  with  the 
extreme  caution  which  has  characterized  them  throughout 
this  entire  matter,  the  selectmen  said,  “We  don’t  want  to 
enter  into  a  project  which  is  going  to  involve  us  in  litigation 
with  our  own  people,  and  we  want  this  done  in  a  way  so  it 


60 


BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 


shall  be  legal,  and  so  we  shall  have  no  question  about  it ;  and 
we  don’t  want  to  have  to  go  into  court,  the  first  shovel-full 
of  earth  we  dig,  and  have  the  question  decided  there  of 
whether  this  is  a  town  or  a  county  way.  We  are  going  to 
proceed  cautiously,  as  we  have  from  the  first,  and  we  are 
going  to  the  Legislature  and  ask  them  to  declare  that  this  is 
a  townway,  and  that  we  have  the  same  rights  over  it  that  we 
do  over  any  other  town  way.” 

And  all  the  town  asks  here,  gentlemen,  is  that  the  Legis¬ 
lature  will  declare  that  Beacon  Street  in  the  town  of  Brook¬ 
line  is  a  town  way,  and  then  the  town  will  have  a  right  to 
deal  Avith  it.  Tlnit  is  a  common  risfht  of  the  citizens  of  the 

O 

towns  all  over  the  CommonAA^ealth.  And  it  is  an  inherent- 
right,  because,  about  the  first  thing  a  man  wants  after  the 
riofht  to  liv^e,  is  the  ri^ht  to  2:0  someAvhere.  Massachusetts 
gives  her  people  free  highways,  and  to  each  town  the 
■authority,  within  its  own  limits,  to  determine  what  highways 
are  necessaiy  for  the  convenience  and  use  of  the  citizens, 
they  paying  the  bills.  Now,  all  they  ask  here  is  that  this 
committee  Avill  report  to  the  Legislature  this  Act,  and  that 
the  Legislature  will  pass  it,  giving  them  the  control  of  this 
ns  a  toAvnway.  It  is  wholly  Avithin  their  limits,  and  they  are 
paying  the  bills  themselves;  they  don’t  ask  the  countA"  to 
pay  anything. 

Now,  irrespective  of  the  gentlemen  who  are  associated 
with  him,  Mr.  Whitney  has  been  very  much  interested  in 
this  project  as  a  public-spirited  citizen.  He  believed  that 
nfter  he  aa'rs  gone,  and  his  children  and  his  grand-children 
would  have  taken  his  place,  this  avenue  would  be  such  a 
magnificent  public  benefit,  that  people  would  remember  with 
gratitude  anybody  who  had  been  instrumental  in  giving  it  to 
them.  He  became  so  much  interested  in  it,  that  one  day, 
when  somebodA^  came  in  before  the  Board  of  Selectmen  and 

ft/ 

began  to  talk  about  having  to  pay  more  faxes,  ^Ir.  AVhitney 
.said,  “I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do.  I  am  a  citizen  of 
Brookline ;  my  fiither  liA^ed  and  died  here  and  I  expect  to 
live  and  die  here,  also  ;  I  loA^e  this  town,  and  I  will  give  you, 
out  of  my  own  pocket,  $100,000  for  the  construction  of  this 


REMARKS  OF  HENRY  D.  HYDE,  ESQ. 


61 


iivenue.”  It  was  a  most  munificent  ofter,  and  he  stands 
today  pledged  to  it.  Of  course  the  citizens  have  thanked 
him  aofain  and  ao^ain  for  it,  but  it  will  be  remembered  lon^  after 
they  are  gone,  and  his  name  and  memory  will  be  connected 
with  this  avenue  as  lon^  as  it  shall  last.  This  is  someth ino' 
entirely  aside  from  his  associates.  It  is  an  offer  made  by 
him  personally,  as  a  citizen  of  Brookline,  and  made  in  the 
spirit  which  I  have  stated. 

If  there  has  been  anything  that  has  been  carefully  con¬ 
sidered  in  Brookline  of  late  years,  if  there  has  been  anything 
that  the  town  has  been  united  in,  it  has  been  this  project. 
Mr.  Atkinson  has  been  at  two  or  three  of  the  meetimys 
and  has  taken  the  same  position  he  has  here.  Every  citizen 
has  a  right  to  favor  or  oppose  any  matter  that  comes  before 
him,  but  it  is  certainly  his  duty  to  attend  the  town  meetings, 
and  it  may  happen,  as  it  has  in  this  case,  that  men  who 
are  at  first  opposed  to  a  project,  when  they  come  to  hear 
it  discussed  will  change  their  minds  and  be  in  favor  of  it. 
Some  people  always  feel  cautious  about  things,  some  peo¬ 
ple  are  always  conservative  in  their  tendencies,  and  some 
people  have  habits  of  objecting.  I  will  say  frankly,  I 
am  not  a  citizen  of  Brookline,  but  Brookline  has  a  great 
reputation  on  the  town  meeting  question.  There  is  no  other 
town  in  the  Commonwealth  where  there  is  such  a  large  atten¬ 
dance  at  the  town  meetings,  and  where  there  is  such  a  full 
discussion  of  questions.  Mr.  Atkinson  said  people  some¬ 
times  get  tired  out  before  a  vote  is  reached,  and  that  may  be 
true,  but  there  is  a  free  and  full  discussion.  They  discuss 
everything.  If  there  is  a  town  in  the  Commonwealth  that 
can  safely  be  left  to  manage  its  own  affairs,  it  is  the  town  of 
Brookline.  There  are  always  people  there  ready  enough  to 
let  fly  at  somebod}^  else,  whenever  they  can  get  a  chance. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  independence  there.  Nobody  con¬ 
trols  that  town,  and  nobody  undertakes  to,  and  everyliody 
knows  that  if  a  matter  comes  up  in  town  meeting  it  is  bound 
to  be  discussed.  There  is  no  choking  it  off.  There  is  pre¬ 
sented  there,  perhaps,  the  best  exponent  of  the  old-fashioned 
town  meeting,  in  the  freest  and  fullest  sense,  that  can  be 


62 


BEACOX  STliEET  IMPROVEMENT. 


found  in  the  Commonwealth,  certainly  in  any  town  as  large 
as  that.  The  meetings  are  held  in  the  evenings,  so  that  all 
the  citizens  can  attend,  and  things  are  fully  discussed. 

Therefore,  I  believe  you  Avill  be  perfectly  safe  in  granting 
what  has  been  asked  for  here  by  the  selectmen,  represented 
by  Mr.  Williams,  who  has  carefully  draAvn  this  bill ;  and, 
furthermore,  I  belicA^e  you  will  go  outside  of  one  of  the 
traditions  of  the  Commonwealth  and  of  its  law-makers,  if 

vou  refuse  to  allow  the  town  to  control  these  matters  which 

«/ 

are  AAnthin  its  own  limits.  And  when  they  come  here  and 
ask  you  to  put  them  in  such  a  Ava}"  that  they  shall  not  be 
iiiAmlA'ed  in  any  legal  intricacies,  but  that  they  shall  haA^e 
plain  sailing  all  the  AA^a}^  through,  so  that  every  man  who 
ofiA^es  his  land  shall  knoAV  he  is  ^roino:  to  have  the  benefit  of 
the*  avenue,  so  that  CA^ery  man  whose  land  is  taken  shall 
know  it  is  legally  taken  and  he  shall  be  paid  for  it,  and  so 
that  every  man  who  builds  a  house  upon  the  avenue  shall 
know  he  will  ha\"e  transportion  to  and  from  the  city,  I 
believe  you  should  grant  their  petition,  and  give  the  town 
the  control  of  this  matter  that  they  ask  for.  I  know  it  is 
the  wish  of  the  toAvn,  and  the  sentiment  of  the  whole  com¬ 
munity  today  is  in  favor  of  the  widening  of  this  street. 


Mr.  Williams.  I  have  only  a  word  or  tAvo  to  say,  and 
before  saying  it  I  should  like  to  put  a  question  to  Mr.  James. 
It  will  only  take  a  moment,  and  inasmuch  as  the  course  of 
the  selectmen  has  been  attacked  by  one  or  two  of  the  remon¬ 
strants,  I  think  I  ought  to  call  them. 


TESTIMONY  OF  HORACE  JAMES. 

Q.  (By  Mr.  Williams.)  You  are  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen?  A.  I  am. 

Q.  When  Avere  you  first  on  the  board?  A.  I  was 
elected  first  in  1867,  twenty  years  ago. 

Q.  How  many  years  have  you  been  ofi*  since  that?  A. 
Three. 

Q.  Hoav  many  streets  have  you  laid  out  in  toAAUi.  A. 
About  fiftA^ 


TESTIMONY  OF  HORACE  JAMES. 


63 


Q.  How  many  have  you  constructed  under  the  orders  of 
the  county  commissioners  in  addition  to  those  fifty?  A. 
About  a  dozen.  We  have  widened  and  altered  nearly  all  the 
county  ways,  except  Beacon  Street,  and  perhaps  we  have 
made  some  alterations  in  Beacon  Street,  which  were  not  by 
order  of  the  county  commissioners,  however. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  whether  or  not  the  details  of  the  prac¬ 
tical  construction  of  these  fifty  or  sixty  roads  have  fallen  to 
you  while  you  have  been  a  member  of  the  board?  A.  To  a 
certain  extent. 

Q.  Do  you  think  the  board  have  taken  proper  precau¬ 
tion  to  investigate  this  subject  and  inform  the  town  with 
regard  to  it?  A.  I  do.  I  don’t  think,  but  I  know. 

Q.  Mr.  Aspinwall,  of  Messrs.  Aspinwall  &  Lincoln,  is 
the  son  of  the  gentleman  who  has  testified  here?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  (By  the  Committee.)  On  what  proportion  of  this 
proposed  avenue  have  the  claims  for  land  and  grade  damages 
been  actually  released  to  the  town?  A.  I  think  on  about 
three-quarters. 

Q.  And  the  estimate  of  the  selectmen,  of  $264,000  for 
land  damages,  refers  to  what  proportion  of  the  length  of  the 
road?  A.  About  a  quarter  part,  perhaps. 


CLOSING  ARGUMENT  OF  MOSES  WILLIAMS,  ESQ. 

In  closing  this  case  for  the  town,  I  am  not  going  to  discuss 
the  main  question.  I  wish  to  speak  especially  with  regard 
to  the  amendments  which  are  proposed  here  to  the  bill  which 
is  offered  by  the  selectmen.  I  do  not  consider  that  the  first 
amendment  is  within  the  purview  of  the  vote  of  the  town. 
It  does  not  seern  to  me  it  js  what  the  town  voted  that  the 
selectmen  should  ask  for  here,  and  therefore  I  pass  that  by  ; 
although  I  think  there  are  practical  objections  to  it,  which 
would  be  sufficient  reason  for  rejecting  it,  independently  of 
the  vote  of  the  town. 

I  would  state  that  I  appear  here  simply  and  solel}' 
for  the  selectmen.  I  have  refused  retainers  in  aid  of  the 
project,  I  have  also  refused  to  be  emplo^^ed  against  it.  I 
simply  represent  the  selectmen,  and  have  no  other  connec¬ 
tion  in  any  way  with  the  enterprise ;  no  stock  in  the  railroad 


1)4  .  BEACON  STREET  IMPROVEMENT. 

company,  ancV  no  connection  Mnth  it  or  with  any  land  upon 
the  proposed  avenue.  I  have  been  from  the  first  a  believer 
in  the  enterprise,  if  it  could  be  carried  out  at  a  proper  cost. 
I  have  stated  that  I  signed  the  original  petition,  and  have 
made  ho  secret  of  that,  but  beyond  that  I  have  no  connec¬ 
tion  in  any  v^ay  with  the  enterprise. 

Mr.  Hyde  referred  to  the  fact  that  some  months  had 
passed  before  any  suggestion  was  made  that  any  legislation 
was  necessary  in  regard  to  this  matter,  Judge  Hoar  hav¬ 
ing  given  an  opinion  that  the  town  had  authority  to  proceed. 
That  is  true.  It  is  also  true  that  my  opinion  was  not  asked 
with  regard  to  it  until  just  before  the  time  when  the  to\vn 
took  action.  At  that  time,  at  the  request  of  the  selectmen, 
I  investigated  the  subject.  I  then  talked  with  Judge  Hoar, 
who  happened  to  be  an  old  and  intimate  friend  of  mine, 
and  with  Mr.  Hyde  and  Mr.  Drew,  and  with  other  gentlemen 
who  had  investigated  the  matter,  and  they  all  agreed,  I  think, 
without  exception,  when  they  heard  the  matters  I  suggested, 
that  it  would  be  safer  to  apply  for  a  special  Act  to  enable  the 
town  to  carry  out  this  great  public  improvement,  rather  than 
to  place  any  weapons  in  the  hands  of  the  parties  who  had 
refused  to  "ive  their  land,  which  would  enable  them  to  extort 
lar^e  damages  out  of  the  town.  This  Act  is  intended  to  be 
an  Act  for  the  prompt  settlement  of  this  matter  with  the 
minimum  of  cost  to  the  town  of  Brookline,  and  in  that  view 
I  must  object  to  these  amendments. 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  it  has  been  held  in  one  case  by 
the  Supreme  Court,  as  my  brother  AYhite  said,  that  a  town 
can  make  a  conditional  acceptance  of  a  way.  The  first  case 
which  Mr.  Rufus  Choate  ever  argued  determines  that 
question,  the  case  of  Jones  v.  Andover,  4  Pickering.  But 
while  it  may  be  expedient  for  a  little  town  in  the  country  to 
vote  to  lay  out  a  road  costing  $500,  providing  it  did  not 
cost  any  more  than  that,  it  is  very  unwise  to  apply  such  a 
doctrine  to  this  great  improvement,  which  is  to  run  along 
over  several  miles,  and  which  is  to  cost  between  $300,000 
and  $400,000.  And  I  believe  if  such  a  clause  as  this  were 
put  in  here,  that  “  such  expenditure  shall  in  no  case  exceed 
the  appropriation  made  therefor  at  such  meeting,  and  all 


CLOSING  AKGUMENT  OF  MOSES  WILLIAMS,  ESQ. 


65 


contracts  made  for  expenditures  beyond  the  said  appropria¬ 
tion  shall  be  void,”  the  town’s  interest  might  very  seriously 
suffer,  because  the  town  might  be  prevented  from  expending 
a  little  more  money  than  at  first  contemplated,  and  thus 
getting  the  benefit  of  the  betterments.  It  is  very  obvious 
that  the  betterment  arising  from  a  thoroughly  constructed 
and  finished  avenue,  such  as  is  proposed,  is  one  thing,  and 
that  the  betterment  arising  from  such  a  work  partly  done 
and  then  stopped,  is  another.  In  my  judgment  you  may  by 
this  amendment  compel  the  town  to  limit  its  betterments  to 
such  as  may  arise  from  a  partially  constructed  street. 

The  only  other  point  is  the  objection  Mr.  Blume  made  in 
the  interest  of  one  of  the  abutters  who  did  not  want  the  time 
extended.  No  valid  reason  was  shown  for  it.  I  think  it  is 
obviously  just  and  right  that  if  these  parties  are  to  have  the 
enormous  benefit  from  this  improvement,  they  should  pay 
their  share  of  the  cost,  when  other  gentlemen  along  the  line 
of  the  road  have  given  their  land.  If  these  gentlemen  are 
coming  in  to  collect  their  damages,  we  ought  certainly  to 
have  a  right  within  three  years  to  ►go  to  the  Court,  or  if  they 
take  us  before  a  jury,  to  show  to  the  jury  that  they  have  re¬ 
ceived  a  very  large  benefit,  and  that  they  ought  to  pay  their 
proportionate  share  of  the  cost.  I  think  it  is  very  important 
that  the  matter  should  be  dealt  with  as  promptly  as  possible 
by  the  Legislature.  The  whole  matter  will  be  before  the 
town,  and  it  ought  to  be  left  without  any  amendment. 

Mr.  Geokge  Griggs.  I  would  like  to  ask  the  counsel 
for  the  town  whether,  if  the  bill  passes  in  the  shape  in 
which  it  now  is,  the  selectmen  will  be  confined  in  their  lay¬ 
ing  out  of  the  road  to  this  particular  plan,  or  whether  it  can 
be  modified  to  the  extent  of  varying  a  few  feet  or  a  few 
rods  one  way  or  the  other. 

Mr.  Williams.  I  would  say  I  am  perfectly  clear  in  the 
opinion  that  it  can  be  modified  in  any  way  the  selectmen  and 
the  town  may  see  fit.  The  suggestion  has  been  made  to  me 
.  that  we  usually  have  our  annual  meeting  in  March,  and  that 
that  is  a  strong  additional  reason  for  prompt  action  in  this 
matter  by  the  Legislature,  in  order  that  the  town  may  call 
it  up  and  settle  it  before  the  regular  routine  business  of  the 
town  is  in  order. 


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